CVE-2018-8103
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 JBIG2Stream::readGenericBitmap function in JBIG2Stream.cc in xpdf 4.00 allows attackers to launch denial of service (heap-based buffer over-read and application crash) via a specific pdf file, as demonstrated by pdftohtml.
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 · moderate confidenceHeap-based buffer over-read vulnerability in the JBIG2Stream::readGenericBitmap function in XPDF 4.00 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service by providing a specially crafted PDF file containing malformed JBIG2 image data that causes the application to read beyond heap buffer boundaries.
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= 4.00CVSS 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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Check XPDF versionRun 'xpdf -v' or 'pdfinfo -v' to display the installed XPDF version numberAffected if version is exactly 4.00 (only this specific version is affected)
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Verify JBIG2 image decoding capabilityXPDF includes JBIG2 decoding support by default when compiled - the vulnerability exists in the JBIG2Stream::readGenericBitmap function which processes JBIG2 images within PDF filesAffected if JBIG2 decoding support is present in the build (standard in XPDF)
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Inspect processed PDF filesUse 'pdfinfo' or 'pdfdetach' to list embedded objects in PDF files - look for /JBIG2Decode filter references indicating JBIG2 compressed image streamsAffected if PDF files being processed contain JBIG2 encoded image data (the vulnerability triggers when parsing these streams)
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Confirm application contextDetermine whether XPDF utilities (pdftohtml, pdftotext, pdfinfo, etc.) are being used to process potentially untrusted PDF filesAffected if XPDF tools are used to render or extract content from PDF files containing JBIG2 images
You are affected if running XPDF version 4.00 and processing PDF files that contain JBIG2 encoded images using XPDF utilities.
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 to a patched version of XPDF. Until then, avoid processing untrusted PDF files with XPDF utilities like pdftohtml, as the vulnerability is triggered during JBIG2 image decoding.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-8103 — 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-2018-8103 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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