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XpdfApplication · Xpdfreader

CVE-2024-4976

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.05 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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
Out-of-bounds array write in Xpdf 4.05 and earlier, due to missing object type check in AcroForm field reference.

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 confidence

Out-of-bounds array write vulnerability in Xpdf versions 4.05 and earlier. The flaw exists in AcroForm field reference handling due to a missing object type check, which can cause memory corruption when processing specially crafted PDF files.

MitigationUpdate Xpdf to a version newer than 4.05 when a patch becomes available. Until then, avoid opening untrusted or unknown PDF files with vulnerable Xpdf installations.

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:<= 4.05

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
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 checks

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

  1. Verify Xpdf is installed
    Check for the xpdf binary on the system using 'which xpdf' on Linux/macOS or by searching for xpdf in Program Files on Windows. Alternatively, run 'xpdf -v' or 'xpdf -help' to invoke the program.
    Affected if Xpdf is found on the system
  2. Determine installed Xpdf version
    Run 'xpdf -v' or 'xpdf -help' and locate the version number in the output. On Linux, also check package manager output via 'dpkg -l | grep xpdf' or 'rpm -qa | grep xpdf'.
    Affected if The version displayed is 4.05 or any version lower than 4.05
  3. Confirm AcroForm handling is part of standard Xpdf functionality
    Understand that AcroForm field processing is a core feature of Xpdf used when rendering PDF forms. No additional module or configuration toggle needs to be enabled; the vulnerability triggers when Xpdf opens a PDF containing malicious AcroForm references.
    Affected if Xpdf is able to open and render PDF files, which means AcroForm handling is active by default

If Xpdf version 4.05 or earlier is installed, the environment is affected by this vulnerability when processing PDF files.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.05
Interim mitigation

Update Xpdf to a version newer than 4.05 when a patch becomes available. Until then, avoid opening untrusted or unknown PDF files with vulnerable Xpdf installations.

Fix this in Xpdf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,040
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,864.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-4976 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