Summary
While rebuilding PMD Designer for Reproducible Builds and digging into issues, I found out that passphrase for gpg.keyname=0xD0BF1D737C9A1C22 is included in jar published to Maven Central.
Details
I removed 2 lines from https://github.com/jvm-repo-rebuild/reproducible-central/blob/master/content/net/sourceforge/pmd/pmd-designer/pmd-designer-7.0.0.diffoscope but real content is:
├── net/sourceforge/pmd/util/fxdesigner/designer.properties
│ @@ -1,14 +1,12 @@
│ #Properties
│ checkstyle.plugin.version=3.3.1
│ checkstyle.version=10.14.0
│ -gpg.keyname=0xD0BF1D737C9A1C22
│ -gpg.passphrase=evicx0nuPfvSVhVyeXpw
│ jar.plugin.version=3.3.0
│ -java.version=11.0.22
│ +java.version=11.0.25
│ javadoc.plugin.version=3.6.3
│ jflex-output=/home/runner/work/pmd-designer/pmd-designer/target/generated-sources/jflex
│ junit5.version=5.8.2
│ kotest.version=5.5.5
│ kotlin.version=1.7.20
│ local.lib.repo=/home/runner/work/pmd-designer/pmd-designer/lib/mvn-repo
│ openjfx.scope=provided
PoC
./rebuild.sh content/net/sourceforge/pmd/pmd-designer/pmd-designer-7.0.0.buildspec
Fixes
- Reworked build script in PMD Designer to not include all system properties
References
Impact
After further analysis, the passphrase of the following two keys have been compromised:
94A5 2756 9CAF 7A47 AFCA BDE4 86D3 7ECA 8C2E 4C5B: PMD Designer (Release Signing Key) [email protected]
This key has been used since 2019 with the release of net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-ui:6.14.0.
The following versions are signed with the same key: 6.16.0, 6.17.0, 6.19.0.EBB2 41A5 45CB 17C8 7FAC B2EB D0BF 1D73 7C9A 1C22: PMD Release Signing Key [email protected]
This key has been used since 2020 with the release of net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-ui:6.21.0
and all the other modules of PMD such as net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-core:6.21.0.
This key has also been used for PMD 7, for the designer, e.g. net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designer:7.0.0
and net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-core:7.0.0.
The versions between 6.21.0 and 7.9.0 are signed with this key.
Additionally the key has been used to sign the last release of PMD Eclipse Plugin 7.9.0.v20241227-1626-r.
The keys have been used exclusively for signing artifacts that we published to Maven Central under group id net.sourceforge.pmd and once for our pmd-eclipse-plugin. The private key itself is not known to have been compromised itself, but given its passphrase is, it must also be considered potentially compromised.
As a mitigation, both compromised keys have been revoked so that no future use of the keys are possible.
For future releases of PMD, PMD Designer and PMD Eclipse Plugin we use a new release signing key:2EFA 55D0 785C 31F9 56F2 F87E A0B5 CA1A 4E08 6838 (PMD Release Signing Key [email protected]).
Note, that the published artifacts in Maven Central under the group id net.sourceforge.pmd are not
compromised and the signatures are valid. No other past usages of the private key is known to the project
and no future use is possible due to the revocation. If anybody finds a past abuse of the private key,
please share with us.
Note, the module net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-ui has been renamed to net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designer since PMD 7, so there won't be a fixed version for pmd-ui.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Remediation advice
net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designer to 7.10.0 or later; net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-core to 7.10.0 or later
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2025-23215? CVE-2025-23215 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designer (maven), affecting versions >= 7.0.0, < 7.10.0. It is fixed in 7.10.0.
- Which packages are affected by CVE-2025-23215?
net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designer(maven) (versions >= 7.0.0, < 7.10.0)net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-core(maven) (versions >= 6.21.0, < 7.10.0)net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-ui(maven) (versions >= 6.14.0, <= 6.19.0)
- Is there a fix for CVE-2025-23215? Yes. CVE-2025-23215 is fixed in 7.10.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2025-23215 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-23215 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2025-23215 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2025-23215?
- Upgrade
net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designerto 7.10.0 or later - Upgrade
net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-coreto 7.10.0 or later
- Upgrade