CVE-2020-16600
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 · uneditedA Use After Free vulnerability exists in Artifex Software, Inc. MuPDF library 1.17.0-rc1 and earlier when a valid page was followed by a page with invalid pixmap dimensions, causing bander - a static - to point to previously freed memory instead of a newband_writer.
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 Use After Free vulnerability in Artifex MuPDF library versions 1.17.0-rc1 and earlier allows memory corruption when processing a document where a valid page is followed by a page containing invalid pixmap dimensions. The static pointer 'bander' references previously freed memory instead of properly allocating a newband_writer, leading to potential arbitrary code execution.
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<= 1.16.1= 1.17.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 MuPDF library versionRun 'mutool --version' if mutool is installed, or check the shared library file version (libmupdf.so, mupdf.dll, or mupdf.framework on macOS) using 'file' or 'ls -la' to view version info in the filename, or use 'strings' on the library to find version strings like '1.16' or '1.17.0'Affected if The version is 1.16.1 or earlier, or exactly 1.17.0 (not 1.17.0-rc1, 1.17.0-rc2, or later)
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Check if applications embed MuPDFSearch for applications that bundle or link against MuPDF by checking installation directories for 'mupdf' named files, or examining linked libraries using 'ldd' (Linux) or 'dumpbin /dependents' (Windows) on PDF-related applicationsAffected if An application embeds or uses MuPDF at a vulnerable version (<=1.16.1 or =1.17.0)
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Determine PDF processing contextIdentify if the system runs any services, converters, viewers, or tools that automatically process PDF files from external or untrusted sources, such as document converters, email gateways, or automated workflowsAffected if The system processes PDF documents from untrusted or external sources using a vulnerable MuPDF version
A user is affected if their system has MuPDF library version 1.16.1 or earlier, or exactly version 1.17.0, and uses it to process PDF documents, particularly documents that may contain malformed page 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 MuPDF library to version 1.17.0 or later. Until patched, exercise caution when opening PDF documents from untrusted sources, as malformed PDF files with invalid page dimensions can trigger the Use After Free condition.
- 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-2020-16600 — 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-2020-16600 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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