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.

There are packages installed that are affected by a vulnerability referenced in the following CVE:

  - 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. (CVE-2025-53621)

ID	Name	Product	Family	Type	Severity
428400	SCA: security update for org.dspace:dspace-api (GHSA-jjwr-5cfh-7xwh)	Tenable Cloud Security	SCA Checks	Local	medium
428400	SCA: security update for org.dspace:dspace-api (GHSA-jjwr-5cfh-7xwh)	Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security	SCA Checks	Local	medium

Detections

Analytics

CVE-2025-53621

medium

Tenable Plugins

medium

medium