CVE-2024-4568
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 · uneditedIn Xpdf 4.05 (and earlier), a PDF object loop in the PDF resources leads to infinite recursion and a stack overflow.
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 confidenceIn Xpdf 4.05 and earlier, a loop within PDF object references in PDF resources triggers infinite recursion during object parsing, causing a stack overflow 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<= 4.05CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 if Xpdf is installedRun command 'xpdf -v' or 'xpdf -help' in terminal, or check for Xpdf binary at common locations like /usr/bin/xpdf or C:\Program Files\Xpdf\xpdf.exe on WindowsAffected if Command executes and displays Xpdf information - product is present
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Identify installed Xpdf versionExecute 'xpdf -v' and note the version number in the output (format typically shows as 'Xpdf 4.05' or similar)Affected if Version number returned is 4.05 or earlier (4.05, 4.04, 4.03, etc.)
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Verify patch statusCheck if the installed version has the security fix - compare your version number against 4.05.01 (the fixed release)Affected if Installed version is 4.05 or any earlier version, as these contain the vulnerable PDF object parsing code
If Xpdf is installed and the version is 4.05 or any earlier version (4.05, 4.04, 4.03, etc.), the environment is affected by this CVE.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to Xpdf version 4.05.01 or later which addresses the recursion/loop detection issue in PDF object parsing.
Xpdf 4.06 or later
- 1. Visit the official Xpdf website at www.xpdfreader.com to download the latest version
- 2. Identify the current installed version of Xpdf by running 'xpdf -v' or checking your package manager
- 3. Download the latest stable release (version 4.06 or later, as the vulnerability affects 4.05 and earlier)
- 4. Verify the downloaded package integrity using provided checksums if available
- 5. Install the new version following your system's installation procedure (package manager, source compilation, or binary installation)
- 6. Restart any services or applications that use Xpdf
- 7. Test that PDF files parse correctly with the updated version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- 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-2024-4568 — 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-2024-4568 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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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.
- 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