Summary
DSpace has possible Remote Code Execution (RCE) through Velocity Templates used by LDN
Full technical description
Overview
Remote Code Execution (RCE) is possible via Velocity Templates used by DSpace for COAR Notify/LDN messages. This vulnerability impacts DSpace versions 8.0 <= 8.3, 9.0 <= 9.2. The attacker MUST already have DSpace administrator credentials in order to perform the attack.
This attack is related to the path traversal attack identified in GHSA-9qm4-rh6w-pq5x as it was the impactful part of the "proof-of-concept" attack chain.
Apply the patch to a DSpace instance
If at all possible, DSpace project maintainers recommend disabling LDN (see below) or upgrading a DSpace site based on the upgrade instructions. However, if users are unable to do so, they can manually apply the above patches to their Space 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 application's 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 the application's installation directory). Depending on an application's setup users 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
- In
dspace.cfgorlocal.cfg, disable LDN (setldn.enabled=false) if it is not crucial to the operation of the repository. (NOTE: LDN is disabled by default, so many DSpace sites may not use this feature) - Once users have patched theirr site or upgraded, they may safely enable LDN again.
Resources
This vulnerability is similar to vulnerabilities reported by Velocity itself:
- Velocity 2.2. CVE: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-13936
- This was patched in Velocity 2.3, and DSpace already includes this patch.
Credits
Discovered & reported by Pablo Picurelli Ortiz (@superpegaso2703), cybersecurity student at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. Reported as a possible attack combined with the LDN Path Traversal vulnerability.
Code fix developed by Kim Shepherd (@kshepherd) of The Library Code
Impact
When chained with the LDN Path Traversal Attack identified in GHSA-9qm4-rh6w-pq5x, it may be possible to execute Java directly from Velocity templates using reflection. This is a very high impact vulnerability, but the attack can only be performed by a user that has DSpace Administrator privileges. Disabling LDN (see below) removes all known attack paths.
Velocity is also used for email templating, but there is no known attack path via emails templates. Nonetheless, the patches below also apply to email templates.
Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment. Typical impact: arbitrary code execution within the application's privilege context.
CVE-2026-49832 has a CVSS score of 8.0 (High). 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 (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 8.4, 9.3 and 10.0. Please upgrade to one of these versions or disable LDN (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 8.x or 9.x.
- Pull request for 9.x: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/12548 (Downloadable patch file)
- Pull request for 8.x: https://github.com/DSpace/DSpace/pull/12549 (Downloadable patch file)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-49832? CVE-2026-49832 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in org.dspace:dspace-api (maven), affecting versions >= 8.0-rc1, < 8.4. It is fixed in 8.4, 9.3, 10.0. Untrusted input is evaluated as executable code within the application's runtime environment.
- How severe is CVE-2026-49832? CVE-2026-49832 has a CVSS score of 8.0 (High). 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-2026-49832? org.dspace:dspace-api (maven) versions >= 8.0-rc1, < 8.4 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-49832? Yes. CVE-2026-49832 is fixed in 8.4, 9.3, 10.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-49832 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-49832 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-2026-49832 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-2026-49832?
- 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