Skip to main content

Poppler CVE-2020-35702

HIGH
Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787)
2020-12-25 cve@mitre.org
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, write limits
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

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 write data beyond allocated buffer boundaries leading to code execution or crashes. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 0.9% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAI

DCTStream::getChars in DCTStream.cc in Poppler 20.12.1 has a heap-based buffer overflow via a crafted PDF document. 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. Validate write boundaries, use memory-safe languages, enable compiler protections (ASLR, stack canaries).

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787), which allows attackers to write data beyond allocated buffer boundaries leading to code execution or crashes. DCTStream::getChars in DCTStream.cc in Poppler 20.12.1 has a heap-based buffer overflow via a crafted PDF document. NOTE: later reports indicate that this only affects builds from Poppler git clones in late December 2020, not the 20.12.1 release. In this situation, it should NOT be considered a Poppler vulnerability. However, several third-party Open Source projects directly rely on Poppler git clones made at arbitrary times, and therefore the CVE remains useful to users of those projects Affected products include: Freedesktop Poppler.

Know when Poppler gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
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

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

DCTStream::getChars in DCTStream.cc in Poppler 20.12.1 has a heap-based buffer overflow via a crafted PDF document. NOTE: later reports indicate that this only affects builds from Poppler git clones in late December 2020, not the 20.12.1 release. In this situation, it should NOT be considered a Poppler vulnerability. However, several third-party Open Source projects directly rely on Poppler git clones made at arbitrary times, and therefore the CVE remains useful to users of those projects

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.9%
Top 46% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

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.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 0.9%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

60
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +39
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:freedesktop:poppler:20.12.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2013-4474 MEDIUM POC
5.0 Nov 23

Format string vulnerability in the extractPages function in utils/pdfseparate.cc in poppler before 0.24.3 allows remote

CVE-2017-2820 HIGH POC
8.8 Jul 12

An exploitable integer overflow vulnerability exists in the JPEG 2000 image parsing functionality of freedesktop.org Pop

CVE-2017-15565 HIGH POC
8.8 Oct 17

In Poppler 0.59.0, a NULL Pointer Dereference exists in the GfxImageColorMap::getGrayLine() function in GfxState.cc via

CVE-2019-12293 HIGH POC
8.8 May 23

In Poppler through 0.76.1, there is a heap-based buffer over-read in JPXStream::init in JPEG2000Stream.cc via data with

CVE-2019-10872 HIGH POC
8.8 Apr 05

An issue was discovered in Poppler 0.74.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, n

CVE-2019-9545 HIGH POC
8.8 Mar 01

An issue was discovered in Poppler 0.74.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, n

CVE-2019-9543 HIGH POC
8.8 Mar 01

An issue was discovered in Poppler 0.74.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, n

CVE-2019-9200 HIGH POC
8.8 Feb 26

A heap-based buffer underwrite exists in ImageStream::getLine() located at Stream.cc in Poppler 0.74.0 that can (for exa

CVE-2013-4473 HIGH POC
7.5 Nov 23

Stack-based buffer overflow in the extractPages function in utils/pdfseparate.cc in poppler before 0.24.2 allows remote

CVE-2017-14518 HIGH POC
7.8 Sep 17

In Poppler 0.59.0, a floating point exception exists in the isImageInterpolationRequired() function in Splash.cc via a c

CVE-2017-14520 HIGH POC
7.8 Sep 17

In Poppler 0.59.0, a floating point exception occurs in Splash::scaleImageYuXd() in Splash.cc, which may lead to a poten

CVE-2022-38784 HIGH POC
7.8 Aug 30

Poppler prior to and including 22.08.0 contains an integer overflow in the JBIG2 decoder (JBIG2Stream::readTextRegionSeg

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy