Summary
DSpace: ORE resource URI does not validate scheme for non-web resources
Full technical description
Overview
When ingesting an aggregated ORE resource by URI (using the OAI-ORE Harvester), the ORE Ingestion Crosswalk does not validate the URI scheme. This may allow for local file inclusion via malicious paths like file:///etc/passwd. This vulnerability impacts DSpace versions <= 7.6.6, 8.0 <= 8.3, 9.0 <= 9.2. The attacker MUST already have DSpace collection administrator privileges in order to perform the attack.
Expected behaviour : Only external web resources should be ingested as ORE resources, preferably from the trusted endpoint.
Apply the patch to a user's DSpace
If at all possible, we recommend disabling the ORE Crosswalk (see below) or upgrading a user's DSpace site based on the upgrade instructions. However, if they are unable to do so, they can manually apply the above patches to their DSpace backend as follows:
- Download the appropriate patch file to the machine where DSpace backend is running
- From the
[dspace-src]folder, apply the patch, e.g.git apply [name-of-file].patch - Now, update the DSpace site (based loosely on the Upgrade instructions). This generally involves three steps:
- Rebuild DSpace, e.g.
mvn -U clean package(This will recompile all DSpace backend code) - Redeploy DSpace, e.g.
ant update(This will copy all newly built code to their installation directory). Depending on their setup they also may need to copy the updated "server" webapp over to their Tomcat webapps folder. - Restart Tomcat (or runnable JAR)
- Rebuild DSpace, e.g.
Workarounds
- Disable the ORE ingestion crosswalk in
dspace.cfgby commenting out or removing it from the list ofplugin.named.org.dspace.content.crosswalk.IngestionCrosswalkplugins:
# Remove or comment out this line
org.dspace.content.crosswalk.OREIngestionCrosswalk = ore, \
- Once they have patched their site or upgraded, they may safely enable the OREIngestionCrosswalk again.
Credits
Discovered & reported by Pablo Picurelli Ortiz (@superpegaso2703), cybersecurity student at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos.
Code fix developed by Kim Shepherd (@kshepherd) of The Library Code
Impact
A remote OAI endpoint configured as a harvest source for a DSpace collection can supply malicious ORE XML that results in a local file from the DSpace server being ingested as a bitstream.
Only Collection, Community and Site Administrators can configure a collection for OAI harvest, however an attacker may use stolen credentials to escalate into local file/data disclosure, or a compromised OAI endpoint could also supply malicious XML.
The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths. Typical impact: varies by context: data corruption, logic bypass, or denial of service.
CVE-2026-49830 has a CVSS score of 4.4 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, high privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (7.6.7, 8.4, 9.3, 10.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
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.
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The fix is included in DSpace 7.6.7, 8.4, 9.3 and 10.0. Please upgrade to one of these versions or disable the ORE Crosswalk (see below).
If users cannot upgrade immediately, it is possible to manually patch their DSpace backend. (No changes are necessary to the frontend.) A pull request exists which can be used to patch systems running DSpace 7.6.x, 8.x or 9.x.
- Pull request for 9.x: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/12541 (Downloadable patch file)
- Pull request for 8.x: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/12543 (Downloadable patch file)
- Pull request for 7.x: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/12542 (Downloadable patch file)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-49830? CVE-2026-49830 is a medium-severity improper input validation vulnerability in org.dspace:dspace-api (maven), affecting versions <= 7.6.6. It is fixed in 7.6.7, 8.4, 9.3, 10.0. The application does not adequately validate input before processing it, allowing unexpected values to reach sensitive code paths.
- How severe is CVE-2026-49830? CVE-2026-49830 has a CVSS score of 4.4 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of org.dspace:dspace-api are affected by CVE-2026-49830? org.dspace:dspace-api (maven) versions <= 7.6.6 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-49830? Yes. CVE-2026-49830 is fixed in 7.6.7, 8.4, 9.3, 10.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-49830 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-49830 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-2026-49830 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-2026-49830?
- Upgrade
org.dspace:dspace-apito 7.6.7 or later - Upgrade
org.dspace:dspace-apito 8.4 or later - Upgrade
org.dspace:dspace-apito 9.3 or later - Upgrade
org.dspace:dspace-apito 10.0 or later
- Upgrade