PMD Designer's release key passphrase (GPG) available on Maven Central in cleartext

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS 4.0

9.3 · 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 · score source

EPSS

• CVE-2025-23215: 0.33% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 26.14 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

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 See https://github.com/jvm-repo-rebuild/reproducible-central/blob/master/content/net/sourceforge/pmd/pmd-designer/README.md 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: PoC Impact After further analysis, the passphrase of the following two keys have been compromised: 1. 94A5 2756 9CAF 7A47 AFCA BDE4 86D3 7ECA 8C2E 4C5B: PMD Designer (Release Signing Key) <releases@pmd-code.org 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. 2. EBB2 41A5 45CB 17C8 7FAC B2EB D0BF 1D73 7C9A 1C22: PMD Release Signing Key <releases@pmd-code.org This…

Published by the source

31 Jan 2025, 17:34 UTC

Last modified by the source

4 Apr 2025, 21:10 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 16:35 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-88m4-h43f-wx84

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2025-23215

Advisory: PMD Designer's release key passphrase (GPG) available on Maven Central in cleartext
IDs: CVE-2025-23215, GHSA-88m4-h43f-wx84
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2025-23215 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 16:35 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.3)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Partial vendor fix; fixed versions by package: net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-core 7.10.0; net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designer 7.10.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Maven net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-core: affected >= 6.21.0, < 7.10.0; fixed in 7.10.0
- Maven net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-ui: affected >= 6.14.0, <= 6.19.0
- Maven net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designer: affected >= 7.0.0, < 7.10.0; fixed in 7.10.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Maven net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-core: check the installed version with your package manager.
- Maven net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-ui: check the installed version with your package manager.
- Maven net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designer: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
No complete vendor fix is recorded. Follow the primary source's mitigation guidance and check this record again before closing anything.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-core, net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-ui, net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designer.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-88m4-h43f-wx84 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-88m4-h43f-wx84 lists affected ranges: Maven net.sourceforge.pmd:pmd-designer >=7.0.0 =6.21.0 =6.14.0 <=6.19.0)

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