CVE-2017-20151: iText RUPS XML External Entity vulnerability

com.itextpdf:itext-rups Updated 02 Oct 2025

Summary

30/12/2022

Disclosed on

CVE-2017-20151

CVE

No i

Fix available

Critical

Severity

9.8

CVSS Score

CVE-2017-20151: iText RUPS XML External Entity vulnerability. Affects com.itextpdf:itext-rups versions < 7.0.1. No fix is published. How to fix ↓

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Background

The iText RUPS package is a part of the Maven ecosystem and is used for analyzing PDF files. It provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for examining the internal structure of PDF documents. The package allows users to view and manipulate the XML Forms Architecture (XFA) data within PDF files. XFA is an XML-based format used for defining interactive forms in PDF documents. This vulnerability affects the XfaFile.java file in the package's source code.

Vulnerability Detail

The vulnerability found in iText RUPS is classified as problematic and involves an XML External Entity (XXE) reference. This type of vulnerability occurs when an application processes XML input that includes a reference to an external entity. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to read arbitrary files on the server or cause a denial of service (DoS) attack. The specific code file affected by this vulnerability is XfaFile.java. The vulnerability has been assigned the identifier CVE-2017-20151 and has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical).

How To Fix

No fixed version is published for this vulnerability.

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Workaround

There is no specific workaround mentioned for this vulnerability. It is recommended to apply the patch as the primary solution.

Conclusion

The iText RUPS package is vulnerable to an XML External Entity (XXE) reference vulnerability in the XfaFile.java file. This vulnerability can be exploited to read arbitrary files or cause a denial of service (DoS) attack. It is crucial to apply the provided patch to mitigate the risk. For further support on vulnerability remediation, contact DevNack.com.

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