CVE-2022-33879Public exploit

Parsing interruption via catastrophic regex backtracking

Published Jun 27, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Regular expression denial of service in Apache Tika before 1.28.4 and 2.0.0 through 2.4.0 allows attackers to interrupt parsing. Nested repetition in the StandardsText header pattern makes findHeaders perform catastrophic backtracking on crafted numeric text. The nonstandard StandardsExtractingContentHandler must process the file; the published demonstration requires JDK 8 or earlier and consumes CPU exponentially.

CVSS severity3.3
Low
EPSS probability1.98%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Regular expression denial of service in Apache Tika before 1.28.4 and 2.0.0 through 2.4.0 allows attackers to interrupt parsing. Nested repetition in the StandardsText header pattern makes findHeaders perform catastrophic backtracking on crafted numeric text. The nonstandard StandardsExtractingContentHandler must process the file; the published demonstration requires JDK 8 or earlier and consumes CPU exponentially.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-33879
Published
Jun 27, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
The Apache Software Foundation
Product
Apache Tika
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 27, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record 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 <2.4.1 changes=[{"at":"1.28.4","status":"unaffected"}]

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Apache Software Foundation · Apache Tikaversion=Apache Tika <2.4.1 changes=[{"at":"1.28.4","status":"unaffected"}]

Published CVSS scores

3.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
2.6NIST NVDAV:N/AC:H/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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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