[ANNOUNCEMENT] Breaking Change in Solr 9.11: Local Tika Extraction Backend Removed

[Jan Høydahl <ja...@apache.org>]

Solr normally keeps strict backwards compatibility within a major
version. Solr 9.11.0 makes one exception: the embedded "local" Tika
extraction backend has been removed from the extraction module (Solr
Cell).

That backend was tied to Tika 1.28, which has been end-of-life since
September 2022. Rather than keep shipping known vulnerabilities in a 9.x
release, we removed it. The same removal is in Solr 10.0 and later,
where it was part of the normal major-version deprecation cycle.

WHO IS AFFECTED
---------------
Only users of ExtractingRequestHandler (/update/extract) with the local
backend. If you don't use the extraction module, you can upgrade with no
action.

WHAT TO DO
----------
Run a Tika Server (https://tika.apache.org/download.html) and point Solr
at it:

  <requestHandler name="/update/extract"
                  class="solr.extraction.ExtractingRequestHandler">
    <str name="tikaserver.url">http://your-tika-server:9998</str>
  </requestHandler>

The parseContext.config option is gone as well; Tika parser-specific
properties are now configured on the Tika Server itself.

FURTHER READING
---------------
The reference guide has the full picture, including every tikaserver.*
parameter and a Docker example:

- Indexing with Tika:
  https://solr.apache.org/guide/solr/9_11/indexing-guide/indexing-with-tika.html

- Upgrade notes, "Removing 'local' Tika":
  https://solr.apache.org/guide/solr/9_11/upgrade-notes/major-changes-in-solr-9.html#removing-local-tika

- SOLR-18037:
  https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/SOLR-18037

We don't take a compatibility break in a minor release lightly, but
shipping a known-vulnerable Tika 1.x was the worse option. Running Tika
out of process also gives better isolation and resource control for
extraction workloads.

- The Apache Solr Team