CVE-2017-9096
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 · uneditedThe XML parsers in iText before 5.5.12 and 7.x before 7.0.3 do not disable external entities, which might allow remote attackers to conduct XML external entity (XXE) attacks via a crafted PDF.
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 confidenceThe iText PDF library contains XML parsers that do not disable external entity processing by default. This allows specially crafted PDFs containing malicious XML to trigger XML External Entity (XXE) attacks, potentially leading to disclosure of sensitive files or denial of service.
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< 5.5.12= 7.0.0= 7.0.1= 7.0.2CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify iText library presenceSearch your project dependencies (Maven pom.xml, Gradle build.gradle, or JAR files) for 'itext' or 'itextpdf' libraries. Check application classpath and lib directories for iText JAR files.Affected if iText library is present in the application dependencies or classpath
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Determine installed iText versionFor Maven/Gradle projects, inspect the version in your dependency management. For deployed applications, examine the iText JAR filename (e.g., itextpdf-5.5.11.jar) or check the MANIFEST.MF file inside the JAR for the Implementation-Version attribute.Affected if The version is < 5.5.12 OR equals 7.0.0, 7.0.1, or 7.0.2
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Verify XML parser usage in applicationSearch codebase for iText XML-related classes: XmlParser, XmlWriter, XMLReader, or PDF-xml related functionality. Look for code that parses XML within PDF processing (e.g., uses com.itextpdf.kernel.pdf.canvas.parser.* or xml.* packages).Affected if Application uses iText classes that parse or handle XML content from PDF files
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Check XML external entity configurationInspect application code and configuration files for XML parser setup. Look for calls to setFeature('http://xml.org/sax/features/external-general-entities') or setFeature('http://xml.org/sax/features/external-parameter-entities'), or verify if XXE protection is explicitly configured in XMLTransformerFactory or DocumentBuilderFactory.Affected if XML parsers used by iText have external entity processing enabled or left at default (not explicitly disabled)
User is affected if iText version is less than 5.5.12 or equals 7.0.0-7.0.2 AND the application parses XML content from PDFs without explicitly disabling external entity processing in the XML parsers.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor data5.5.12
Upgrade iText to version 5.5.12 or 7.0.3 or later, which properly disables external entity processing in XML parsers. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, configure XML parser factories to explicitly disable external entity and DTD processing.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-9096 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-9096 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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