Skip to content
Fencer Vulns
medium 6.9

CVE-2025-53621 json

DSpace vulnerable to XML External Entity (XXE) injection in import via Simple Archive Format (SAF) or import from external sources

published 2025-07-15 15 mo ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2025-21447 , GHSA-jjwr-5cfh-7xwh

cvss
6.9
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.4%
EPSS 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 38%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

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.

Patch / fix

  • maven org.dspace:dspace-api 7.6.4, 8.2, 9.1
  • duraspace dspace 7.6.4, 8.2, 9.1
  • org.dspace dspace-api 7.6.4, 8.2, 9.1

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial
Assessed
15 mo ago

Exploit prediction

0.44% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 38% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 6.9 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L
GitHub 3.1 6.9 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:L

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
maven org.dspace:dspace-api
<7.6.4
>=8.0, <8.2
>=9.0, <9.1
7.6.4
8.2
9.1

Affected products

  • DSpace DSpace

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-611 Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

CPEs and fixed versions use Anchore's correction of NVD's data: Added CPE configurations because not yet analyzed by NVD.