Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-49656

Path Traversal in Apache Jena ≤ 5.5.0

Published
21 July 2025
Modified
17 June 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.014 70th percentile
Risk Priority 60 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-49656 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Apache Jena. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 30% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2025-49656 is a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) affecting Apache Jena up to version 5.4.0. The flaw resides in the Fuseki server component and allows users with administrator access to create database files outside the intended files area.

An attacker with administrator privileges can exploit the issue over the network to write files to arbitrary locations on the server filesystem, resulting in a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 that reflects high confidentiality impact without requiring user interaction.

Public advisories from the Apache project and the OSS-Security mailing list state that the issue is resolved in Jena 5.5.0 and explicitly recommend upgrading to that version.

The associated EPSS score has remained flat at 0.0104 with no material increase since disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Users with administrator access can create databases files outside the files area of the Fuseki server. This issue affects Apache Jena version up to 5.4.0. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 5.5.0, which fixes the issue.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-34478Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2026-50203Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2025-66249Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2026-23907Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-22887Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2026-49818Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2026-33227Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2023-49735Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2026-33929Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2026-29220Same vendor: Apache

Affected Assets

apache
jena
≤ 5.5.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.

Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.

Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
prevents

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.

References