CVE-2021-28657

Service hang via malformed MP3 parsing

Published Mar 31, 2021 · Updated Feb 13, 2025

Infinite-loop denial of service in Apache Tika 1.25 and earlier allows attackers to hang MP3Parser with a crafted or corrupt file. Apache has not published the malformed MP3 field, loop condition, or source-level operation that fails to terminate. The attacker must cause an affected deployment to parse the file; the resulting loop consumes processing capacity and can interrupt that parsing service.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability2.75%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Infinite-loop denial of service in Apache Tika 1.25 and earlier allows attackers to hang MP3Parser with a crafted or corrupt file. Apache has not published the malformed MP3 field, loop condition, or source-level operation that fails to terminate. The attacker must cause an affected deployment to parse the file; the resulting loop consumes processing capacity and can interrupt that parsing service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-28657
Published
Mar 31, 2021
Updated
Feb 13, 2025
Vendor
The Apache Software Foundation
Product
Apache Tika
Classifications
CWE-835, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 31, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 13, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Apache Tika <1.26

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Apache Software Foundation · Apache Tikaversion=Apache Tika <1.26

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.3NIST NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-835Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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