VulnerabilityPublished 22 Dec 2024Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2024-56378: poppler · Out-of-bounds Read

Affects popplerSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium.

Data as of 27 Oct 2026, 05:11 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.3Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 49% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Dec 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Debiandebian/poppler`pkg:deb/debian/poppler`Other threats	Affected <=24.12.0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Monitor official Poppler repositories and security advisories for patches addressing CVE-2024-56378 and apply updates promptly once available.
Until patches are released, restrict exposure by limiting network access to services that process PDFs using vulnerable Poppler versions.
Implement sandboxing or containerization for PDF processing applications to contain potential exploitation effects.
Employ input validation and filtering to block or quarantine suspicious or malformed PDF files, especially those containing JBIG2 streams.
Use alternative PDF rendering libraries or tools that are not affected, if feasible, as a temporary mitigation.
Conduct internal audits to identify all systems and applications using Poppler and assess their exposure.
Educate users and administrators about the risks of processing untrusted PDFs and encourage cautious handling of email attachments and downloads.
Integrate runtime monitoring to detect anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts targeting PDF processing components.

Description

libpoppler.so in Poppler through 24.12.0 has an out-of-bounds read vulnerability within the JBIG2Bitmap::combine function in JBIG2Stream.cc.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact is on the integrity of PDF processing workflows. Sectors such as government, finance, legal, and publishing that heavily rely on PDF documents and open-source tools may face risks of document corruption or manipulation if malicious PDFs exploit this vulnerability. Although confidentiality and availability are not directly affected, integrity breaches could undermine trust in document authenticity and processing pipelines. Organizations using Poppler in automated document processing, archival systems, or web services that render PDFs are particularly at risk. The vulnerability’s network vector and lack of user interaction requirement increase the risk of remote exploitation, especially in environments where PDF files are ingested from untrusted sources. However, the requirement for low privileges limits exploitation to contexts where an attacker has some level of access, reducing the overall threat scope. The absence of known exploits and patches currently lowers immediate risk but underscores the need for vigilance and timely remediation once fixes are released.

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Nov 2025, 20:03 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-125

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats