CVE-2017-7378
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 · uneditedThe PoDoFo::PdfPainter::ExpandTabs function in PdfPainter.cpp in PoDoFo 0.9.5 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (heap-based buffer over-read and application crash) via a crafted PDF document.
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 buffer over-read vulnerability exists in the PdfPainter::ExpandTabs function in PoDoFo library version 0.9.5. When processing a crafted PDF document with specially malformed tab expansion data, the function reads beyond allocated heap memory boundaries, causing a denial of service via application crash.
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= 0.9.5CVSS 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 library is presentSearch for libpodofo or podofo shared libraries, header files, or applications linked against PoDoFo. Check system libraries, application dependencies, or bundled libraries in PDF processing software.Affected if PoDoFo library exists in the environment
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Determine the installed PoDoFo versionRun commands such as 'podofo-config --version', check library file metadata, or inspect version strings in linked binaries. Compare against the affected version 0.9.5.Affected if The version is exactly 0.9.5
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Confirm PDF processing functionality is in useIdentify whether any application or service uses the PdfPainter class for rendering or processing PDF documents. Check for code that loads or parses PDF files using PoDoFo.Affected if PdfPainter is actively used to process PDF documents
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Check for untrusted PDF input handlingDetermine if PoDoFo processes PDF documents from untrusted or external sources, as the vulnerability requires specially malformed tab expansion data to trigger the buffer over-read.Affected if Untrusted or user-supplied PDF documents are processed by the PoDoFo library
A user is affected if PoDoFo version 0.9.5 is present and the PdfPainter::ExpandTabs function processes untrusted or malformed PDF documents containing specially crafted tab expansion data.
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 that properly implements bounds checking in the ExpandTabs function. If no patch is available, consider input validation or sandboxing for PDF processing.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 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 $4,464.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-7378 — 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-2017-7378 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data