CVE-2017-5854
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 · uneditedbase/PdfOutputStream.cpp in PoDoFo 0.9.4 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference and crash) via a crafted file.
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 NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in base/PdfOutputStream.cpp in PoDoFo library version 0.9.4. When processing a specially crafted PDF file, the code fails to properly validate a pointer before dereferencing it, leading to a crash and denial of service.
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= 0.9.4CVSS 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:3.0/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if PoDoFo is installedSearch for PoDoFo library files on the system using commands like 'find / -name "*podofo*"' or check package managers (dpkg -l, rpm -qa, brew list)Affected if PoDoFo library files are found on the system
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Determine the installed PoDoFo versionCheck the version of the PoDoFo library using 'pkg-config --modversion podofo' or inspect the library binary with 'strings' or metadata files, or check the package version if installed via a package managerAffected if The installed version is exactly 0.9.4
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Locate the vulnerable PdfOutputStream.cpp componentSearch for the file base/PdfOutputStream.cpp in the PoDoFo source or installed headers: 'find / -path "*/base/PdfOutputStream.cpp"' or check the installed header filesAffected if The file base/PdfOutputStream.cpp exists in the installed PoDoFo version 0.9.4
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Identify if applications process PDF files using PoDoFoReview application dependencies to see if any software links against libpodofo, or check running processes that handle PDF documentsAffected if Applications or services use PoDoFo to process incoming PDF files from untrusted sources
The environment is affected if PoDoFo version 0.9.4 is installed AND any application uses it to process PDF files from untrusted sources, as the NULL pointer dereference occurs in PdfOutputStream.cpp during PDF processing.
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 to a patched version of PoDoFo if available, or add defensive NULL pointer checks in PdfOutputStream.cpp where the dereference occurs when handling input from untrusted PDF files.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,648.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-5854 — 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-2017-5854 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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