JackrabbitApplication · Apache
CVE-2025-53689
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 · uneditedBlind XXE Vulnerabilities in jackrabbit-spi-commons and jackrabbit-core in Apache Jackrabbit < 2.23.2 due to usage of an unsecured document build to load privileges. Users are recommended to upgrade to versions 2.20.17 (Java 8), 2.22.1 (Java 11) or 2.23.2 (Java 11, beta versions), which fix this issue. Earlier versions (up to 2.20.16) are not supported anymore, thus users should update to the respective supported version.
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 confidenceBlind XXE vulnerability in Apache Jackrabbit's privilege loading mechanism where an unsecured XML document builder parses XML input without proper entity expansion restrictions, allowing attackers to potentially read internal files or trigger SSRF via crafted malicious XML.
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
JackrabbitApplication
>= 2.20.0, < 2.20.17= 2.22.0= 2.23.0= 2.23.1CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Apache Jackrabbit installation versionLocate the jackrabbit-core JAR file in your deployment and check its version metadata, or inspect your pom.xml or dependency management files for the jackrabbit-core version entryAffected if The installed version is 2.20.0 through 2.20.16, or exactly 2.22.0, 2.23.0, or 2.23.1
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Verify XML parsing configuration for external entitiesInspect any custom XML parser configurations in your Jackrabbit startup scripts or application code, specifically looking for DocumentBuilderFactory or XMLInputFactory settings that may disable entity expansion limitsAffected if The XML parser is configured with default settings that allow external entity expansion without restrictions
You are affected if your Jackrabbit installation version falls within 2.20.0-2.20.16, 2.22.0, 2.23.0, or 2.23.1 and the privilege loading mechanism is active (which it is by default).
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.
dbcve · scoped2.20.17
Upgrade Apache Jackrabbit to version 2.20.17 (Java 8), 2.22.1 (Java 11), or 2.23.2 (Java 11) to remediate the vulnerability; earlier unsupported versions should be migrated to a supported release line.
2.20.17 (Java 8), 2.22.1 (Java 11+), or 2.23.2 (Java 11+ beta)
- Determine the Java version currently in use (Java 8 or Java 11+)
- If using Java 8: upgrade Apache Jackrabbit to version 2.20.17
- If using Java 11+: upgrade Apache Jackrabbit to version 2.22.1 (or 2.23.2 for beta)
- Verify the upgrade by running application tests to ensure compatibility
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Jackrabbit
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $4,896.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-53689 — 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-2025-53689 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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