Xpdfreader
CVE-2019-9589
HIGH
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A10:2025 - Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions
ASVS 5.0
V16 - Security Logging and Error Handling Null pointer safety, defensive checks
MITRE ATT&CK
1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Impact | CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A local attacker with access to the system could crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability. |
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Alert meAnalysisAI
There is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in PSOutputDev::setupResources() located in PSOutputDev.cc in Xpdf 4.01. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
RemediationAI
No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Check pointers before dereferencing. Use static analysis tools to detect null pointer paths.
Affects your stack
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Technical ContextAI · show details
This vulnerability is classified as NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476), which allows attackers to crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer. There is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in PSOutputDev::setupResources() located in PSOutputDev.cc in Xpdf 4.01. It can be triggered by sending a crafted pdf file to (for example) the pdftops binary. It allows an attacker to cause Denial of Service (Segmentation fault) or possibly have unspecified other impact. Affected products include: Glyphandcog Xpdfreader.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
DescriptionNVD
There is a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in PSOutputDev::setupResources() located in PSOutputDev.cc in Xpdf 4.01. It can be triggered by sending a crafted pdf file to (for example) the pdftops binary. It allows an attacker to cause Denial of Service (Segmentation fault) or possibly have unspecified other impact.
Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
A null pointer dereference occurs when a program attempts to access memory through a pointer that has been set to NULL (address 0x0).
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
Affected Products (CPE)NVD
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GitHub PoC
Exploit-DB