CVE-2017-14929
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 · uneditedIn Poppler 0.59.0, memory corruption occurs in a call to Object::dictLookup() in Object.h after a repeating series of Gfx::display, Gfx::go, Gfx::execOp, Gfx::opFill, Gfx::doPatternFill, Gfx::doTilingPatternFill and Gfx::drawForm calls (aka a Gfx.cc infinite loop), a different vulnerability than CVE-2017-14519.
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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in Poppler 0.59.0 where an infinite loop in Gfx.cc (triggered by repeating Gfx::display, Gfx::go, Gfx::execOp, Gfx::opFill, Gfx::doPatternFill, Gfx::doTilingPatternFill, and Gfx::drawForm calls) leads to corruption during Object::dictLookup() calls in Object.h. Exploitable via malicious PDF files designed to trigger the infinite loop pattern.
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= 0.59.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Poppler versionRun 'pdftotext -v' or 'pdfinfo -v' to display the Poppler version, or use 'pkg-config --modversion poppler' if built with pkg-configAffected if Version displayed is exactly 0.59.0
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Check for Poppler library versionIf Poppler is linked as a library, check the linked library version via 'ldd' on the PDF tool binary or by querying the library file directly with 'strings' or a library viewerAffected if The linked Poppler library resolves to version 0.59.0
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Identify PDF processing tools using PopplerList installed PDF utilities on the system (such as pdftotext, pdfinfo, pdftk, or custom applications) and note their Poppler dependency using 'ldd <binary>' or 'ldd $(which pdftotext)'Affected if Any Poppler-dependent tool is present and the underlying library is version 0.59.0
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Confirm vulnerability trigger conditionThis vulnerability triggers when processing a maliciously crafted PDF file designed to cause repeating calls to Gfx::display, Gfx::go, Gfx::execOp, Gfx::opFill, Gfx::doPatternFill, Gfx::doTilingPatternFill, and Gfx::drawForm functionsAffected if A PDF file processed by Poppler 0.59.0 exploits the infinite loop in Gfx.cc leading to memory corruption during Object::dictLookup()
The system is affected if Poppler version 0.59.0 is installed and used to render or process untrusted PDF files.
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 dataUpgrade Poppler to version 0.60.0 or later where the infinite loop condition in Gfx.cc and memory handling in Object::dictLookup() have been patched. If upgrade is not immediately feasible, consider sandboxing PDF rendering processes and validating PDF files before processing.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-14929 — 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-2017-14929 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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