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XpdfApplication · Xpdfreader

CVE-2018-7174

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-02-15
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
An issue was discovered in xpdf 4.00. An infinite loop in XRef::Xref allows an attacker to cause denial of service because loop detection exists only for tables, not streams.

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

In xpdf 4.00, the XRef::Xref function contains an infinite loop vulnerability. The code implements loop detection for table-based PDF cross-references but fails to implement equivalent detection for stream-based cross-references, allowing a specially crafted PDF to trigger an unbounded loop causing denial of service.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of xpdf that implements stream loop detection, or implement the missing loop detection logic in the XRef::Xref function. Avoid processing untrusted PDF files until patched.

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:= 4.00

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:3.0/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 checks

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

  1. Identify if xpdf is installed
    Run 'xpdf -v' or check your package manager for installed xpdf packages
    Affected if xpdf is installed and the reported version is 4.00 exactly
  2. Confirm the exact xpdf version number
    Compare the installed version against the affected range: version 4.00. If you have a different version (older or newer), you are not affected by this specific CVE.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 4.00
  3. Determine if PDFs are processed
    Check if xpdf is used to open, parse, or render PDF files in your environment. This vulnerability is triggered during PDF processing.
    Affected if You use xpdf version 4.00 to process PDF files

You are affected only if you have xpdf version 4.00 installed AND use it to process PDF files; other versions are not vulnerable to this CVE.

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

Upgrade to a patched version of xpdf that implements stream loop detection, or implement the missing loop detection logic in the XRef::Xref function. Avoid processing untrusted PDF files until patched.

Fix this in Xpdf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2018-7174 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