CVE-2025-23215
PMD Designer's release key passphrase (GPG) available on Maven Central in cleartext
PMD is an extensible multilanguage static code analyzer. The passphrase for the PMD and PMD Designer release signing keys are included in jar published to Maven Central. 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 As a mitigation, both compromised keys have been revoked so that no future use of the keys are possible. Note, that the published artifacts in Maven Central under the group id net.sourceforge.pmd are not compromised and the signatures are valid.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
9.3
PMD Designer's release key passphrase (GPG) available on Maven Central in cleartext
PMD is an extensible multilanguage static code analyzer. The passphrase for the PMD and PMD Designer release signing keys are included in jar published to Maven Central. 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 As a mitigation, both compromised keys have been revoked so that no future use of the keys are possible. Note, that the published artifacts in Maven Central under the group id net.sourceforge.pmd are not compromised and the signatures are valid.
- Record
CVE-2025-23215- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/U:Clear - Weakness
- CWE-200, CWE-540, CWE-312
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2025-0212
9.3
PMD is an extensible multilanguage static code analyzer. The passphrase for the PMD and PMD Designer release signing keys are included in jar published to Maven Central. 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 As a mitigation, both compromised keys have been revoked so that no future use of the keys are possible. Note, that the published artifacts in Maven Central under the group id net.sourceforge.pmd are not compromised and the signatures are valid.
- Record
EUVD-2025-0212- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/U:Clear - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-88m4-h43f-wx84
9.3
PMD Designer's release key passphrase (GPG) available on Maven Central in cleartext
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
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.
Fixes
- Reworked build script in PMD Designer to not include all system properties *…
- Record
GHSA-88m4-h43f-wx84- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/U:Clear - Weakness
- CWE-200, CWE-540
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
9.3
PMD is an extensible multilanguage static code analyzer. The passphrase for the PMD and PMD Designer release signing keys are included in jar published to Maven Central. 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. Note, that the published artifacts in Maven Central under the group id net.sourceforge.pmd are not compromised and the signatures are valid.
- Record
CVE-2025-23215- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:Clear - Weakness
- CWE-200, CWE-312, CWE-540
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
9.3
PMD Designer's release key passphrase (GPG) available on Maven Central in cleartext
PMD is an extensible multilanguage static code analyzer. The passphrase for the PMD and PMD Designer release signing keys are included in jar published to Maven Central. 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. Note, that the published artifacts in Maven Central under the group id net.sourceforge.pmd are not compromised and the signatures are valid.
- Record
CVE-2025-23215- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/U:Clear - Weakness
- CWE-200, CWE-312, CWE-540
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-88m4-h43f-wx84
9.3
PMD Designer's release key passphrase (GPG) available on Maven Central in cleartext
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
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.
Fixes
- Reworked build script in PMD Designer to not include all system properties *…
- Record
GHSA-88m4-h43f-wx84- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/U:Clear - Weakness
- CWE-200, CWE-540
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designerMaven |
7.0.0 up to 7.10.0 | 7.10.0 |
net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-coreMaven |
6.21.0 up to 7.10.0 | 7.10.0 |
net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-uiMaven |
6.14.0 to 6.19.0 | None known |
net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designerMaven |
7.0.0 up to 7.10.0, plus listed versions 7.2.0 |
7.10.0 |
net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-uiMaven |
6.14.0 to 6.19.0, plus listed versions 6.16.06.17.0 |
None known |
net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-coreMaven |
6.21.0 up to 7.10.0, plus listed versions 6.22.06.23.06.24.06.25.06.26.0 Show 43 moreShow less6.27.06.28.06.29.06.30.06.31.06.32.06.33.06.34.06.35.06.36.06.37.06.38.06.39.06.40.06.41.06.42.06.43.06.44.06.45.06.46.06.47.06.48.06.49.06.50.06.51.06.52.06.53.06.54.06.55.07.0.07.0.0-rc17.0.0-rc27.0.0-rc37.0.0-rc47.1.07.2.07.3.07.4.07.5.07.6.07.7.07.8.07.9.0 |
7.10.0 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2025-23215 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.3) in Pmd, published January 31, 2025. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.34%, the 28th percentile. Fixed in net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designer 7.10.0.
References
github.com/pmd/pmd/security/advisories/GHSA-88m4-h43f-wx84
github.com/pmd/pmd-designer/commit/1548f5f27ba2981b890827fecbd0612fa70a0362
github.com/pmd/pmd-designer/commit/e87a45312753ec46b3e5576c6f6ac1f7de2f5891
github.com/jvm-repo-rebuild/reproducible-central/blob/master/content/net/sourceforge/pmd/pmd-designer/README.md
github.com/jvm-repo-rebuild/reproducible-central/blob/master/content/net/sourceforge/pmd/pmd-designer/pmd-designer-7.0.0.diffoscope
github.com/jvm-repo-rebuild/reproducible-central?tab=readme-ov-file
Left out here: the rest of 2 source descriptions. The JSON record has them.