CVE-2025-53621
DSpace XXE Injection Vulnerability
Description
DSpace open source software is a repository application which provides durable access to digital resources. Two related XML External Entity (XXE) injection possibilities impact all versions of DSpace prior to 7.6.4, 8.2, and 9.1. External entities are not disabled when parsing XML files during import of an archive (in Simple Archive Format), either from command-line (`./dspace import` command) or from the "Batch Import (Zip)" user interface feature. External entities are also not explicitly disabled when parsing XML responses from some upstream services (ArXiv, Crossref, OpenAIRE, Creative Commons) used in import from external sources via the user interface or REST API. An XXE injection in these files may result in a connection being made to an attacker's site or a local path readable by the Tomcat user, with content potentially being injected into a metadata field. In the latter case, this may result in sensitive content disclosure, including retrieving arbitrary files or configurations from the server where DSpace is running. The Simple Archive Format (SAF) importer / Batch Import (Zip) is only usable by site administrators (from user interface / REST API) or system administrators (from command-line). Therefore, to exploit this vulnerability, the malicious payload would have to be provided by an attacker and trusted by an administrator, who would trigger the import. The fix is included in DSpace 7.6.4, 8.2, and 9.1. Please upgrade to one of these versions. For those who cannot upgrade immediately, it is possible to manually patch the DSpace backend. One may also apply some best practices, though the protection provided is not as complete as upgrading. Administrators must carefully inspect any SAF archives (they did not construct themselves) before importing. As necessary, affected external services can be disabled to mitigate the ability for payloads to be delivered via external service APIs.
INFO
Published Date :
July 15, 2025, 3:15 p.m.
Last Modified :
July 15, 2025, 8:07 p.m.
Source :
[email protected]
Remotely Exploitable :
Yes !
Impact Score :
4.7
Exploitability Score :
1.7
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
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CVE-2025-53621
.
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CVE-2025-53621
vulnerability anywhere in the article.
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CVE-2025-53621
vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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New CVE Received by [email protected]
Jul. 15, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description DSpace open source software is a repository application which provides durable access to digital resources. Two related XML External Entity (XXE) injection possibilities impact all versions of DSpace prior to 7.6.4, 8.2, and 9.1. External entities are not disabled when parsing XML files during import of an archive (in Simple Archive Format), either from command-line (`./dspace import` command) or from the "Batch Import (Zip)" user interface feature. External entities are also not explicitly disabled when parsing XML responses from some upstream services (ArXiv, Crossref, OpenAIRE, Creative Commons) used in import from external sources via the user interface or REST API. An XXE injection in these files may result in a connection being made to an attacker's site or a local path readable by the Tomcat user, with content potentially being injected into a metadata field. In the latter case, this may result in sensitive content disclosure, including retrieving arbitrary files or configurations from the server where DSpace is running. The Simple Archive Format (SAF) importer / Batch Import (Zip) is only usable by site administrators (from user interface / REST API) or system administrators (from command-line). Therefore, to exploit this vulnerability, the malicious payload would have to be provided by an attacker and trusted by an administrator, who would trigger the import. The fix is included in DSpace 7.6.4, 8.2, and 9.1. Please upgrade to one of these versions. For those who cannot upgrade immediately, it is possible to manually patch the DSpace backend. One may also apply some best practices, though the protection provided is not as complete as upgrading. Administrators must carefully inspect any SAF archives (they did not construct themselves) before importing. As necessary, affected external services can be disabled to mitigate the ability for payloads to be delivered via external service APIs. Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L Added CWE CWE-611 Added Reference https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11032 Added Reference https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11032.patch Added Reference https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11034 Added Reference https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11034.patch Added Reference https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11035 Added Reference https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/11035.patch Added Reference https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/security/advisories/GHSA-jjwr-5cfh-7xwh
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2025-53621
is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2025-53621
weaknesses.