CVE-2025-0851: Deep Java Library path traversal issue

Should you act?

High exploit likelihood

EPSS ranks it in the top 5% of all CVEs for likely exploitation in the next 30 days. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
• EPSS 23.3%, percentile 98: FIRST’s model estimates a 23.3% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 98% of all scored CVEs (very high). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes ai.djl:api (Maven) < 0.31.1, fixed in 0.31.1. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

A path traversal issue in ZipUtils.unzip and TarUtils.untar in Deep Java Library (DJL) on all platforms allows a bad actor to write files to arbitrary locations.

From the GitHub advisory

Summary

Deep Java Library (DJL) is an open-source, high-level, engine-agnostic Java framework for deep learning. DJL is designed to be easy to get started with and simple to use for Java developers. DJL provides a native Java development experience and functions like any other regular Java library.

DJL provides utilities for extracting tar and zip model archives that are used when loading models for use with DJL. These utilities were found to contain issues that do not protect against absolute path traversal during the extraction process.

Impact

An issue exists with DJL's untar and unzip functionalities. Specifically, it is possible to create an archive on a Windows system, and when extracted on a MacOS or Linux system, write artifacts outside the intended destination during the extraction process. The reverse is also true for archives created on MacOS/Linux systems and extracted on Windows systems.

Weakness type: CWE-36, CWE-73, CWE-22.

Product: ai.djl:api (Maven) · Assigned by: AMZN · Published: 2025-01-29

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Attack requirements: none
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none, automatable yes, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 23.27% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 98.

Timeline

• 2025-01-29 — CVE record published by AMZN
• 2025-01-29 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-jcrp-x7w3-ffmg published (critical)
• 2025-10-14 — CVE record last updated

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vendor and project advisories, patches

1. aws.amazon.com aws.amazon.com
2. github.com github.com

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-jcrp-x7w3-ffmg github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2025-0851 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2025-0851 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com

Critical Maven advisories · Today’s Security Digest