CVE-2016-2175
Apache PDFBox before 1.8.12 and 2.x before 2.0.1 does not properly initialize the XML parsers, which allows context-dependent attackers to conduct XML External Entity (XXE) attacks via a crafted PDF.
02 Description
Apache PDFBox before 1.8.12 and 2.x before 2.0.1 does not properly initialize the XML parsers, which allows context-dependent attackers to conduct XML External Entity (XXE) attacks via a crafted PDF.
03 Exploitation and scoring
- Exploitation
- Not assessed. CISA has not published an exploitation assessment for this record, and it is not in the KEV catalog. That is an absence of assessment, not a finding of no risk.
- SSVC decision
- Not assessed by CISA
- EPSS probability
- 3.84% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
- EPSS percentile
- Equal to or higher than the score of 89.6% of scored records. A rank, not a probability.
- NVD base score
- 7.8 (CVSS v3.x), scored by the NVD independently of the CNA.
- NVD CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- NVD analysis status
- Modified. NVD last modified this record on 2026-06-17.
- Red Hat severity
- Moderate. Red Hat's rating for its own products, not a CVSS rating.
Exploit-prediction scores from FIRST. Independent scoring and analysis status from the NVD. Vendor severity from Red Hat. Exploitation assessment and catalog membership from CISA.
04 Metadata
- Published
- 2016-06-01 20:00Z10 YR AGO
- Last updated
- 2024-08-05 23:17Z2 YR AGO
- Reserved
- 2016-01-29
- Assigning CNA
- redhat
- Record state
- PUBLISHED
- Severity
- Not rated by the issuing CNA
- CNA CVSS vector
- Not published by the issuing CNA
- Weaknesses
- CWE-611Improper Restriction of XML External Entity ReferenceBase
- Data version
- 5.1
- Document digest
- ef5ed0e2a9f15f9bbc36357a095aa4d795e45939184aeaa26d7232f88d95dead
05 Affected products
06 References
- rhn.redhat.comRHSA-2017:0179http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0179.html
- packetstormsecurity.comhttp://packetstormsecurity.com/files/137214/Apache-PDFBox-1.8.11-2.0.0-XML-Injection.html
- mail-archives.us.apache.org[www-announce] 20160527 [CVE-2016-2175] Apache PDFBox XML External Entity vulnerabilityhttp://mail-archives.us.apache.org/mod_mbox/www-announce/201605.mbox/%3C83a03bcf-f86b-4688-37b5-615c080291d8%40apache.org%3E
- www.debian.orgDSA-3606http://www.debian.org/security/2016/dsa-3606
- www.securityfocus.com20160527 [CVE-2016-2175] Apache PDFBox XML External Entity vulnerabilityhttp://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/538503/100/0/threaded
- svn.apache.orghttp://svn.apache.org/viewvc?view=revision&revision=1739564
- www.securityfocus.com90902http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/90902
- svn.apache.orghttp://svn.apache.org/viewvc?view=revision&revision=1739565
- rhn.redhat.comRHSA-2017:0272http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0272.html
- rhn.redhat.comRHSA-2017:0248http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0248.html
- rhn.redhat.comRHSA-2017:0249http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017-0249.html
- lists.apache.org[tika-commits] 20190802 svn commit: r1864259 [1/17] - in /tika/site: publish/ publish/1.10/ publish/1.11/ publish/1.12/ publish/1.13/ publish/1.14/ publish/1.15/ publish/1.16/ publish/1.17/ publish/1.18/ publish/1.19.1/ publish/1.19/ publish/1.20/ publish/1.21/ publish/1.22/ ...https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ad5fbc86c1d1821ae1b963e8561ab6d6a5f66b2848e84f5a31477f54%40%3Ccommits.tika.apache.org%3E
07 Fixed in
Debian 12
- libpdfbox-java Fixed in 1:1.8.12-1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Debian 13
- libpdfbox-java Fixed in 1:1.8.12-1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Debian 14
- libpdfbox-java Fixed in 1:1.8.12-1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
- libpdfbox-java No fix yet
Source: Ubuntu, Canonical Ltd. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
A release or ecosystem missing from this list has no record here. It may be unaffected or not covered by the source. Source notices and licences.