CVE-2025-66516
HIGHEPSS 100th pctlDescription
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.
How to fix
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2025-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2030-04-02.
This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2025-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2030-04-02.
This vulnerability affects an unusually large number of packages. The highest-confidence fixes are shown above; the full list is longer. Check the referenced advisories for complete coverage.
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 100% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-611 (XML External Entity (XXE)) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-34102 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2019-9670 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2022-28219 | Critical | 9.8 | 97% | - | - |
| CVE-2024-22024 | High | 8.3 | 95% | - | - |
| CVE-2024-38653 | High | 7.5 | 92% | - | - |
| CVE-2017-12629 | Critical | 9.8 | 92% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2025-66516?
Published advisories record a fix for 26 affected products. The "How to fix" section on this page lists the fixed version and source advisory for each one, so apply the entry matching what you actually run.
Is CVE-2025-66516 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2025-66516 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 87.7% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 100% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2025-66516?
CVE-2025-66516 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.4, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2025-66516 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for registry.redhat.io/devspaces/code (Rocky), registry.redhat.io/devspaces/code (Red Hat / RHEL), registry.redhat.io/devspaces/configbump (Rocky), registry.redhat.io/devspaces/configbump (Red Hat / RHEL), and 22 more. Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-06-17.