TikaApplication · Apache
CVE-2018-8017
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 · uneditedIn Apache Tika 1.2 to 1.18, a carefully crafted file can trigger an infinite loop in the IptcAnpaParser.
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 confidenceApache Tika versions 1.2 through 1.18 contain a denial-of-service vulnerability in the IptcAnpaParser component. A specially crafted file parsed by IptcAnpaParser can trigger an infinite loop, causing the parsing process to hang and consume CPU resources indefinitely, resulting in service unavailability.
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
TikaApplication
>= 1.2, <= 1.18CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Determine installed Apache Tika versionLocate the tika-core JAR file or check your application dependencies (Maven pom.xml, Gradle build file, or JAR manifest) to identify the Tika version in useAffected if The version is between 1.2 and 1.18 inclusive
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Identify if IptcAnpaParser is registeredCheck Tika's parser configuration or META-INF/services/org.apache.tika.parser.Parser file to see if IptcAnpaParser is listed as an available parserAffected if IptcAnpaParser is registered and available in the parsing pipeline
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Verify if application processes IPA or ANPA content typesReview application code or configuration to determine if files with MIME types application/x-indesign, application/x-indesign-pub, or similar desktop publishing formats are accepted for parsingAffected if The application accepts and parses desktop publishing file formats that invoke IptcAnpaParser
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Check for timeout or resource limits on parsing operationsInspect the parsing configuration to see if timeouts or CPU limits are enforced when IptcAnpaParser processes contentAffected if No timeout or resource limits are configured, allowing an infinite loop to consume CPU indefinitely
You are affected if your installed Apache Tika version is between 1.2 and 1.18 inclusive and your system can process untrusted desktop publishing files through the IptcAnpaParser component.
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 dataUpgrade Apache Tika to version 1.19 or later, which contains the fix for the infinite loop vulnerability. If upgrade is not immediately feasible, disable or remove the IptcAnpaParser from the processing pipeline for untrusted inputs.
Fix this in Tika
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,792.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-8017 — 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-2018-8017 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
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