CVE-2016-8728
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 · uneditedAn exploitable heap out of bounds write vulnerability exists in the Fitz graphical library part of the MuPDF renderer. A specially crafted PDF file can cause a out of bounds write resulting in heap metadata and sensitive process memory corruption leading to potential code execution. Victim needs to open the specially crafted file in a vulnerable reader in order to trigger this vulnerability.
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 confidenceA heap-based out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the Fitz graphical library used by MuPDF PDF renderer. Specially crafted PDF files can trigger the vulnerability, causing heap metadata and process memory corruption that can lead to arbitrary code execution.
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= 1.10CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if MuPDF is installedCheck for MuPDF binary or library files: on Linux/macOS run 'which mupdf' or 'find /usr -name "*mupdf*" 2>/dev/null'; on Windows check for mupdf.exe or libmupdf.dll in common program directoriesAffected if MuPDF binary or library files are found on the system
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Determine the installed MuPDF versionRun 'mupdf --version' or check the package manager: 'dpkg -l | grep mupdf' (Debian) or 'rpm -qa | grep mupdf' (RHEL)Affected if The version reported is 1.10 exactly, as this is the only affected version listed
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Verify the Fitz graphics library is presentCheck for libmupdf or Fitz-related library files: on Linux 'ldconfig -p | grep mupdf' or 'ls -la /usr/lib/*mupdf*'Affected if The Fitz library (libmupdf) is loaded by any application that renders PDFs
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Check if PDF rendering is enabled for untrusted sourcesReview application configurations that use MuPDF for PDF handling, or check if users can open arbitrary PDF files through affected applicationsAffected if The system processes or renders PDF files from untrusted or external sources
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Identify applications using the affected MuPDF libraryRun 'ldd $(which mupdf)' or check process memory of applications that handle PDFs to see if they link against libmupdfAffected if Any application is dynamically linked to the vulnerable MuPDF 1.10 library
A system is affected if MuPDF version 1.10 is installed and the system processes or renders PDF files, particularly from untrusted sources, using the Fitz graphics library.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate MuPDF to the patched version that addresses this heap corruption vulnerability. Alternatively, implement sandboxing or disable PDF rendering for untrusted files until the update can be applied.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8728 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-8728 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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