CVE-2025-66516
8.4 · HIGHOverview
CVE-2025-66516 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting apache tika. It was published on December 4, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.4 (HIGH).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.4, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
Critical XXE in Apache Tika tika-core (1.13-3.2.1), tika-pdf-module (2.0.0-3.2.1) and tika-parsers (1.13-1.28.5) modules on all platforms allows an attacker to carry out XML External Entity injection via a crafted XFA file inside of a PDF.
This CVE covers the same vulnerability as in CVE-2025-54988. However, this CVE expands the scope of affected packages in two ways.
First, while the entrypoint for the vulnerability was the tika-parser-pdf-module as reported in CVE-2025-54988, the vulnerability and its fix were in tika-core. Users who upgraded the tika-parser-pdf-module but did not upgrade tika-core to >= 3.2.2 would still be vulnerable.
Second, the original report failed to mention that in the 1.x Tika releases, the PDFParser was in the "org.apache.tika:tika-parsers" module.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from apache. Update tika to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| apache | tika | >= 1.13, < 3.2.2 | Affected |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2025-66516?
CVE-2025-66516 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting apache tika. It was published on December 4, 2025 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.4 (HIGH).
How severe is CVE-2025-66516?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.4, rated HIGH. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2025-66516?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from apache. Update tika to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2025-66516?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2025-66516 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
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