QPDF 9.x through 9.1.1 and 10.x through 10.0.4 has a heap-based buffer overflow in…
Priority LOW 27CWE-787Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-787 and the CVSS impact.
Summary
QPDF 9.x through 9.1.1 and 10.x through 10.0.4 has a heap-based buffer overflow in Pl_ASCII85Decoder::write (called from Pl_AES_PDF::flush and Pl_AES_PDF::finish) when a certain downstream write fails.
Why it matters now
Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.01272 70th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Will not fix Red Hat: no fix planned
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:qpdf_project:qpdf:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 9.0.0 – 9.1.1; 10.0.0 – 10.0.4 | Vulnerable | Qpdf Project |
- cpe:2.3:a:qpdf_project:qpdf:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 9.0.0 – 9.1.1; 10.0.0 – 10.0.4 Vulnerable ·Qpdf Project
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
Not affected: 1 product
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-36978
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vgrr-57vg-f5rq
References
Patch 2
Advisory 2
More Qpdf Project Qpdf vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-16045 Heap Buffer Overflow vulnerability in qpdf 11.9.0 allows attackers to crash the… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.5
- TI-2021-07868 An issue was discovered in QPDF version 10.0.4, allows remote attackers to execute… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 5.3
- TI-2017-09321 The tokenizer in QPDF 6.0.0 and 7.0.b1 is recursive for arrays and dictionaries, which… CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.8
- TI-2018-07028 libqpdf.a in QPDF through 8.0.2 mishandles certain "expected dictionary key but found… CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.8
- TI-2022-15389 QPDF v8.4.2 was discovered to contain a heap buffer overflow via the function… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2017-06661 libqpdf.a in QPDF 6.0.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite… CVSS 3.0MEDIUM 5.5
Sources
- CVE-2021-36978 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-36978 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vgrr-57vg-f5rq · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2021-36978 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences