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NutchApplication · Apache

CVE-2016-6809

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2017-04-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.13 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Apache Tika before 1.14 allows Java code execution for serialized objects embedded in MATLAB files. The issue exists because Tika invokes JMatIO to do native deserialization.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Apache Tika before version 1.14 contains a critical deserialization vulnerability in its MATLAB file parsing functionality. The JMatIO library invoked by Tika performs unsafe deserialization of serialized Java objects embedded in MATLAB files, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary Java code by crafting malicious serialized objects.

MitigationUpgrade Apache Tika to version 1.14 or later which contains the security patch. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, disable or restrict processing of untrusted MATLAB files until the upgrade can be applied.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
NutchApplication
Affected:= 2.3.1
TikaApplication
Affected:<= 1.13

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Apache Tika version
    Run 'java -jar tika-app-*.jar --version' or check the tika-core JAR manifest for the version number
    Affected if Version is 1.13 or earlier, or the version cannot be determined (indicating an old installation)
  2. Identify Apache Nutch version if present
    Check the Nutch distribution for the bundled Tika version, typically found in lib/tika-*.jar or examine nutch.xml/ivy.xml for Tika dependencies
    Affected if Apache Nutch version 2.3.1 is in use, as it bundles the vulnerable Tika version
  3. Verify JMatIO library presence
    Search for jmatio*.jar in the classpath or lib directories of the Tika/Nutch installation
    Affected if The JMatIO library (jmatio*.jar) is present in the application classpath
  4. Check for MATLAB file processing capability
    Review Tika parser configuration or test parsing a .mat file using 'java -jar tika-app-*.jar --text document.mat'
    Affected if MATLAB (.mat) file parsing is enabled and functional in the Tika deployment
  5. Confirm Java deserialization settings
    Inspect JVM startup arguments for custom object deserialization filters or review if the application accepts untrusted .mat files for processing
    Affected if No custom object deserialization filter is configured and the application processes .mat files from untrusted sources

A user is affected if their environment runs Apache Tika version 1.13 or earlier (or Apache Nutch 2.3.1) AND has MATLAB file parsing enabled, with the JMatIO library present in the classpath processing untrusted .mat files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.13
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache Tika to version 1.14 or later which contains the security patch. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, disable or restrict processing of untrusted MATLAB files until the upgrade can be applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apache Tika 1.14 or later

  1. Upgrade Apache Tika to version 1.14 or later to address the deserialization vulnerability
  2. If using Apache Nutch, verify that the Tika dependency is updated to version 1.14 or later in the Nutch project's dependency configuration
  3. After upgrading, rebuild and redeploy the application
  4. Test that Tika functionality (particularly MATLAB file parsing) continues to work correctly with the new version
Caveat Minor - this is a security patch upgrade; minimal risk of breaking changes expected but test MATLAB file parsing functionality

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Nutch Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,080.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-6809 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data