6.9

CVSS Score

3.1

-

CVSS Score

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CVE-2025-53621

CVE-2025-53621: DSpace is vulnerable to XML External Entity injection during archive imports

Impact

Two related XXE injection possibilities have been discovered, impacting 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. (Likely impacts all versions of DSpace 1.x <= 7.6.3, 8.0 <= 8.1, and 9.0)
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. (Impacts all versions of DSpace 7.0 <= 7.6.3, 8.0 <= 8.1 and 9.0)

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 or content from remote URLs. The ability to include content from a remote URL could result in a request forgery attack, and disclosure of sensitive information in the response.

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 most severe practical impact is a case where an attacker obtains DSpace administrator credentials and uses the Batch Import feature with a malicious SAF archive to expose sensitive local files readable by the Tomcat user, or secrets and access tokens from an authenticated service via request forgery.

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CVE-2025-53621

CVE-2025-53621:

6.9

CVSS Score

3.1

-

CVSS Score

Basic Information

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Technical Details

Package Name	Ecosystem	Vulnerable Versions	First Patched Version
org.dspace:dspace-api	maven	< 7.6.4	7.6.4
org.dspace:dspace-api	maven	>= 8.0, < 8.2	8.2
org.dspace:dspace-api	maven	>= 9.0, < 9.1	9.1

Technical Details

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Root Cause Analysis

The vulnerability advisory describes two primary XXE attack vectors: one through the Simple Archive Format (SAF) import feature and another through parsing XML from external data sources. The analysis of the provided patches confirms this and reveals the widespread nature of insecure XML parser instantiation across the DSpace codebase.

The core of the fix is the introduction of a centralized org.dspace.app.util.XMLUtils class. This class provides factory methods (getDocumentBuilder, getSAXBuilder, etc.) that return XML parsers configured with secure defaults, specifically disabling external entity resolution features that lead to XXE vulnerabilities (e.g., disallow-doctype-decl, external-general-entities).

The investigation of the commits shows numerous files where default, insecure DocumentBuilderFactory, DocumentBuilder, and SAXBuilder instances were being created. These insecure instances were then replaced with calls to the new secure methods in XMLUtils.

The identified vulnerable functions are key points where the application processes XML that could be controlled by an attacker, either directly (by an administrator uploading a malicious archive) or indirectly (if a trusted external service was compromised).

org.dspace.app.itemimport.ItemImportServiceImpl.loadXML is the primary function for handling metadata XML in SAF archives, making it a direct target for the first attack vector.
org.dspace.importer.external.* services, such as those for ArXiv and CrossRef, and the CCLicenseConnectorServiceImpl, directly correspond to the second attack vector, where XML is fetched from an external API and parsed insecurely.
org.dspace.content.packager.METSManifest.create represents another archive-based vector, as METS is a common packaging format for digital objects.

By replacing the insecure parser initializations in these functions, the patch effectively mitigates the XXE risk.

Vulnerable functions

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WAF Rule

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Reasoning

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CVE-2025-53621: DSpace is vulnerable to XML External Entity injection during archive imports

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CVE-2025-53621:

6.9

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6.9

6.9

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Vulnerable functions

CVE-2025-53621: DSpace is vulnerable to XML External Entity injection during archive imports

Impact

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6.9

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CVE-2025-53621: DSpace is vulnerable to XML External Entity injection during archive imports

Impact

CVE-2025-53621:

6.9

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Technical Details

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6.9

6.9

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Root Cause Analysis

Vulnerable functions

CVE-2025-53621: DSpace is vulnerable to XML External Entity injection during archive imports

Impact

Basic Information

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Patches

Apply the patch to your DSpace

Workarounds

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