veraPDF-validatio: Use of Default DocumentBuilderFactory leads to XXE When Processing Untrusted PDFs
veraPDF-validation has an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in two PDF parsing paths (validate and GFPDAcroForm.getdynamicRender()). A malicious/crafted PDF supplied to a veraPDF consumer can lead to the expansion of external entities while parsing rich-text annotation/form-field values or XFA configurations, allowing local file disclosure and potentially outbound network requests depending on the runtime (host) environment.
Consumers that utilise either the PDFAValidator.validate(...) or GFPDAcroForm(acroForm).getdynamicRender() APIs to process untrusted PDFs are vulnerable to XXE exploits.
Both vulnerable paths share the same root cause: the underlying source binds a default DocumentBuilderFactory and immediately calls newDocumentBuilder() which does not disable parsing of DTDs, external entities, XInclude, or external resource access directives in XML schemas.
This is an XXE vulnerability affecting applications that use veraPDF's affected APIs to parse or validate untrusted PDFs.
An attacker could craft a PDF that includes crafted XML external entities that when processed by vulnerable consumers could lead to local file disclosure and server-side outbound requests to attacker-controlled endpoints, depending on JVM XML parser behavior and network controls on the host.
This issue can be reached over the network, attack complexity is low, an attacker needs no privileges on the target. No user interaction is required. The scope is unchanged, so the impact stays within the vulnerable component. Rated impact: confidentiality low, integrity low, availability none.
The score comes from this vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
CVE-2026-54082 is classified as CWE-611: XML External Entity Reference (XXE). An XML parser resolves external entities, letting a crafted document read local files or reach internal services.
CVE-2026-54082 is recorded against 3 packages.
Published on 29 July 2026. No public exploit is currently recorded for this entry. Record sourced from NVD.
github.com (Web)
github.com (Web)
github.com (Web)
github.com (Web)
github.com (Package)
org.verapdf:validation-model has other advisories on record. If you are patching this one, these are worth checking on the same host:
These advisories are the same class of weakness (CWE-611: XML External Entity Reference (XXE)) in other software:
Details
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Affected Packages
| Software | From version | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| org.verapdf:validation-model | 1.31.1 | 1.31.71 |
| org.verapdf:validation-model-jakarta | 1.31.1 | 1.31.71 |
| unknown | — | — |
References
Similar Threats
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