Infinite loop in Apache PDFBox
Priority LOW 36CWE-835Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 fixed, 2 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA, GitHub and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-835.
Summary
In Apache PDFBox 1.8.0 to 1.8.14 and 2.0.0RC1 to 2.0.10, a carefully crafted (or fuzzed) file can trigger an infinite loop which leads to an out of memory exception in Apache PDFBox's AFMParser.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.03992 90th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox (Maven): 1.8.15, 2.0.11Red Hat: 1 advisoryRed Hat: 1 fixed, 2 without a fix
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apache | Apache PDFBox | 1.8.0 to 1.8.14; 2.0.0RC1 to 2.0.10 | — | No fix listed | CNA |
| — | org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox (Maven) | 1.8.0 to before 1.8.15 | 1.8.15 | Patch available | GHSA-j2xq-pfff-mvgg |
| — | org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox (Maven) | 2.0.0RC1 to before 2.0.11 | 2.0.11 | Patch available | GHSA-j2xq-pfff-mvgg |
- Apache PDFBox VendorApache Affected 1.8.0 to 1.8.14; 2.0.0RC1 to 2.0.10 Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
- org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox (Maven) Vendor— Affected 1.8.0 to before 1.8.15 Fixed in 1.8.15 Patch available GHSA-j2xq-pfff-mvgg
- org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox (Maven) Vendor— Affected 2.0.0RC1 to before 2.0.11 Fixed in 2.0.11 Patch available GHSA-j2xq-pfff-mvgg
CPE configurations NVD · 4
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:apache:pdfbox:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | after 1.8.0, up to 1.8.14; 2.0.0 – 2.0.10 | Vulnerable | Apache |
| cpe:2.3:a:apache:pdfbox:2.0.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.0.0 rc1 | Vulnerable | Apache |
| cpe:2.3:a:apache:pdfbox:2.0.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.0.0 rc2 | Vulnerable | Apache |
| cpe:2.3:a:apache:pdfbox:2.0.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.0.0 rc3 | Vulnerable | Apache |
- cpe:2.3:a:apache:pdfbox:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions after 1.8.0, up to 1.8.14; 2.0.0 – 2.0.10 Vulnerable ·Apache
- cpe:2.3:a:apache:pdfbox:2.0.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.0.0 rc1 Vulnerable ·Apache
- cpe:2.3:a:apache:pdfbox:2.0.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.0.0 rc2 Vulnerable ·Apache
- cpe:2.3:a:apache:pdfbox:2.0.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.0.0 rc3 Vulnerable ·Apache
Remediation
- Fix · GHSA-j2xq-pfff-mvgg org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox (Maven) Fixed in 1.8.15 Advisory →
- Fix · GHSA-j2xq-pfff-mvgg org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox (Maven) Fixed in 2.0.11 Advisory →
Red Hat 1 advisory
- RHSA-2018:2669 Released 2018-09-11 · Red Hat rating ImportantFuse 7.1 security update
- Red Hat Fuse 7
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat JBoss Data Virtualization 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Satellite 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Fuse 7 | Fixed | RHSA-2018:2669 |
Not affected: 4 products
- Red Hat BPM Suite 6
- Red Hat JBoss BRMS 6
- Red Hat JBoss Fuse 6
- Red Hat JBoss Fuse Service Works 6
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2018-8036
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-j2xq-pfff-mvgg
- 2026-11-03 Fix available: Red Hat Fuse 7 · Red Hat
References
Advisory 4
Other 7
- [users] 20180629 [CVE-2018-8036] DoS (OOM) Vulnerability in Apache PDFBox's AFMParser
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2020.html
- [syncope-dev] 20200423 Re: Time to cut 2.1.6 / 2.0.15?
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/9f62f742fd4fcd81654a9533b8a71349b064250840592bcd502dcfb6@%3Cusers.pdfbox.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r43491b25b2e5c368c34b106a82eff910a5cea3e90de82ad75cc16540@%3Cdev.syncope.apache.org%3E
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/6HKVPTJWZGUB4MH4AAOWMRJHRDBYFHGJ
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/POPOGHJ5CVMUVCRQU7APBAN5IVZGZFDX
More Apache Pdfbox vulnerabilities
- TI-2019-00201 XML external entity injection in Apache PDFBox CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2016-01985 Apache PDFBox before 1.8.12 and 2.x before 2.0.1 does not properly initialize the XML… CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.8
- TI-2021-11808 A carefully crafted PDF file can trigger an OutOfMemory-Exception while loading a tiny file CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
- TI-2021-09241 A carefully crafted PDF file can trigger an OutOfMemory-Exception while loading the file CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
- TI-2018-08451 Uncontrolled resource consumption in Apache PDFBox CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
- TI-2021-11809 A carefully crafted PDF file can trigger an infinite loop while loading the file CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
Sources
- CVE-2018-8036 · CVE Program
- CVE-2018-8036 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-j2xq-pfff-mvgg · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2018-8036 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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