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XpdfApplication · Xpdfreader

CVE-2010-0206

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-10-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
xpdf allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and crash) in the way it processes JBIG2 PDF stream objects.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

XPDF contains a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability when processing JBIG2 stream objects within PDF files. When the JBIG2 parser encounters a specific malformed stream, it attempts to dereference a NULL pointer, causing the application to crash. Attackers can exploit this by crafting a malicious PDF containing specially constructed JBIG2 data.

MitigationUpdate XPDF to the latest version or switch to a maintained fork like Poppler that has incorporated the fix. Organizations using PDF libraries derived from XPDF should ensure they pull the latest upstream patches.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
XpdfApplication
Affected:= 3.03-17= 3.04-4= 3.04-13

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify XPDF installation and version
    Run 'xpdf -v' or check your package manager/uninstall information for xpdf or poppler-utils. On Windows, right-click the xpdf.exe and view Properties > Details for version info.
    Affected if The installed version matches 3.03-17, 3.04-4, or 3.04-13 exactly.
  2. Confirm JBIG2 stream processing is possible
    Examine PDF files you process using a tool like 'pdfinfo' or 'pdfid' to check if JBIG2Decode filters are present in your PDF documents.
    Affected if Your PDFs contain JBIG2 encoded streams and you process them with a vulnerable XPDF version.
  3. Verify the specific code path is reachable
    Attempt to open a known PDF with JBIG2 content using xpdf or pdftotext from the command line: 'pdftotext yourfile.pdf -'
    Affected if The application successfully processes JBIG2 streams without error, indicating the vulnerable code path is reachable.

You are affected if you are running XPDF version 3.03-17, 3.04-4, or 3.04-13 AND process PDF files containing JBIG2 stream data.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update XPDF to the latest version or switch to a maintained fork like Poppler that has incorporated the fix. Organizations using PDF libraries derived from XPDF should ensure they pull the latest upstream patches.

Fix this in Xpdf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2010-0206 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data