CVE-2025-68280VulnerabilityPublished 5 Jan 2026

CVE-2025-68280: Apache SIS · XML External Entity (XXE)

Affects Apache SISSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium · fixed in 1.6 : update Apache SIS when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 52% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 1.6

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 5 Jan 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Apache Software FoundationApache SIS	Affected >=0.4 <=1.5	Fixed in–
MavenApache Software Foundation/org.apache.sis.core:sis-metadata`pkg:maven/Apache Software Foundation/org.apache.sis.core:sis-metadata`Other threats	Affected >=0.4 <=1.5	Fixed in–
Mavenorg.apache.sis/core`pkg:maven/org.apache.sis/core`Other threats	Affected =0.4 >=0.4 <=1.5	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

1. Upgrade Apache SIS to version 1.6 or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability. 2. Until upgrading is possible, configure the Java runtime environment to restrict external entity processing by setting the system property javax.xml.accessExternalDTD to an empty string or a comma-separated list of allowed protocols (e.g., java -Djavax.xml.accessExternalDTD="" ...). 3. Review and sanitize all XML inputs processed by Apache SIS, especially those originating from untrusted or external sources, to prevent malicious entity injection. 4. Implement network-level controls to limit access to services processing XML files, reducing exposure to untrusted inputs. 5. Monitor logs for unusual XML parsing errors or unexpected file access patterns that could indicate attempted exploitation. 6. Conduct security assessments of geospatial data processing pipelines to identify and remediate other potential XML-related vulnerabilities. 7. Educate developers and administrators about secure XML parsing practices and the risks of XXE vulnerabilities. 8. Employ application-layer firewalls or XML security gateways that can detect and block malicious XML payloads targeting XXE.

Description

Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference vulnerability in Apache SIS. It is possible to write XML files in such a way that, when parsed by Apache SIS, an XML file reveals to the attacker the content of a local file on the server running Apache SIS. This vulnerability impacts the following SIS services: * Reading of GeoTIFF files having the GEO_METADATA tag defined by the Defense Geospatial Information Working Group (DGIWG). * Parsing of ISO 19115 metadata in XML format. * Parsing of Coordinate Reference Systems defined in the GML format. * Parsing of files in GPS Exchange Format (GPX). This issue affects Apache SIS from versions 0.4 through 1.5 inclusive. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 1.6, which will fix the issue. In the meantime, the security vulnerability can be avoided by launching Java with the javax.xml.accessExternalDTD system property sets to a comma-separated list of authorized protocols. For example: java -Djavax.xml.accessExternalDTD="" ...

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2025-68280 is unauthorized disclosure of local files on servers running vulnerable versions of Apache SIS. For European organizations, this can lead to leakage of sensitive geospatial data, internal configuration files, or credentials, potentially compromising confidentiality and enabling further attacks. Organizations in sectors such as defense, government mapping agencies, environmental monitoring, and critical infrastructure that utilize Apache SIS for geospatial metadata processing are at heightened risk. The exposure of sensitive local files could undermine national security, disrupt geospatial intelligence operations, or reveal proprietary data. Although the vulnerability does not directly affect system integrity or availability, the information disclosure could facilitate subsequent targeted attacks. The requirement for crafted XML input means that systems accepting untrusted XML data are most vulnerable. Given the strategic importance of geospatial data in European defense and infrastructure, the impact could be significant if exploited. However, the absence of known exploits and the availability of a patch reduce immediate risk if mitigations are applied promptly.

CWE-611Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A02:2025: Security Misconfiguration (opens in a new tab)
The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product to embed incorrect documents into its output.
Implementation · System Configuration
Many XML parsers and validators can be configured to disable external entity expansion.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
XML External Entity Prevention (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.5.2 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Data Serialization External Entities Blowup (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 5 Jan 2026, 14:17 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-611

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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