CVE-2020-9489: Tika Missing Release Of Memory After Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-4pv3-63jw-4jw2
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-835 CWE-401
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-9489 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) missing release of memory after vulnerability (CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')) affecting Tika libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves missing release of memory after effective lifetime in apache tika. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.24.1.

CVE-2020-9489 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-9489
GHSA Identifier GHSA-4pv3-63jw-4jw2
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
Affected Product Tika
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2020-9489

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Tika dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

org.apache.tika:tika fixed: 1.24.1 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.tika</groupId>
    <artifactId>tika</artifactId>
    <version>1.24.1</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.tika

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2020-9489, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.tika

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Tika in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.24.1), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.tika command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop'), where the product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop. In Tika, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

A carefully crafted or corrupt file may trigger a System.exit in Tika's OneNote Parser. Crafted or corrupted files can also cause out of memory errors and/or infinite loops in Tika's ICNSParser, MP3Parser, MP4Parser, SAS7BDATParser, OneNoteParser and ImageParser. Apache Tika users should upgrade to 1.24.1 or later. The vulnerabilities in the MP4Parser were partially fixed by upgrading the com.googlecode:isoparser:1.1.22 dependency to org.tallison:isoparser:1.9.41.2. For unrelated security reasons, we upgraded org.apache.cxf to 3.3.6 as part of the 1.24.1 release.

CVE-2020-9489 Affected Tika Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.24.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.tika:tika
maven/org.apache.tika/tika
Maven
< 1.24.1
1.24.1

References

NVD — CVE-2020-9489 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-9489
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/apache/tika/commit/0f4d5de0f85455e91433fb0b464ea0461d7c891d
Tika Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/tika
issues.apache.org/jira/browse/tika-30... WEB
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/TIKA-3081
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4cbc3f... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4cbc3f6981cd0a1a482531df9d44e4c42a7f63342a7ba78b7bff8a1b@%3Cnotifications.james.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4d9437... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4d943777e36ca3aa6305a45da5acccc54ad894f2d5a07186cfa2442c%40%3Cdev.tika.apache.org%3E
Tika Security Information SECURITY
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
Tika Security Information SECURITY
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2021.html
Tika Security Information SECURITY
https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2020.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-9489?
CVE-2020-9489 is a security vulnerability in Tika involving Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime in Apache Tika under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop').
Which Tika versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.24.1 across affected packages: org.apache.tika:tika.
What version fixes CVE-2020-9489?
Upgrading to 1.24.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is tika affected?
Yes, org.apache.tika:tika is affected in releases prior to 1.24.1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.24.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-9489?
CVE-2020-9489 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-9489?
CVE-2020-9489 is classified under CWE-835: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') (The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-9489?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.tika'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-4pv3-63jw-4jw2",
  "modified" : "2022-10-07T20:41:22Z",
  "published" : "2021-05-07T15:53:40Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-9489" ],
  "summary" : "Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime in Apache Tika",
  "details" : "A carefully crafted or corrupt file may trigger a System.exit in Tika's OneNote Parser. Crafted or corrupted files can also cause out of memory errors and/or infinite loops in Tika's ICNSParser, MP3Parser, MP4Parser, SAS7BDATParser, OneNoteParser and ImageParser. Apache Tika users should upgrade to 1.24.1 or later. The vulnerabilities in the MP4Parser were partially fixed by upgrading the com.googlecode:isoparser:1.1.22 dependency to org.tallison:isoparser:1.9.41.2. For unrelated security reasons, we upgraded org.apache.cxf to 3.3.6 as part of the 1.24.1 release.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.tika:tika"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.24.1"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 1.24"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-9489"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/tika/commit/0f4d5de0f85455e91433fb0b464ea0461d7c891d"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/tika"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/TIKA-3081"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4cbc3f6981cd0a1a482531df9d44e4c42a7f63342a7ba78b7bff8a1b@%3Cnotifications.james.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4d943777e36ca3aa6305a45da5acccc54ad894f2d5a07186cfa2442c%40%3Cdev.tika.apache.org%3E"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2021.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2020.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-401", "CWE-835" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-05-05T22:53:02Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-04-27T14:15:00Z"
  }
}