CVE-2024-6239 is a high-severity vulnerability identified in the Poppler library's pdfinfo utility, specifically affecting version 24.06.0. Poppler is a widely used open-source PDF rendering library, and pdfinfo is a command-line tool within Poppler used to extract metadata and information from PDF files. The vulnerability arises from improper input validation when the pdfinfo utility is invoked with the '-dests' parameter. An attacker can craft a malformed PDF file that, when processed by pdfinfo with this parameter, causes the utility to crash. This crash leads to a denial of service (DoS) condition, as the utility becomes unavailable or unresponsive. The CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 reflects the vulnerability's high severity, with an attack vector that is network-based (AV:N), requiring no privileges (PR:N) and no user interaction (UI:N). The impact is limited to availability (A:H), with no confidentiality or integrity loss. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches or mitigations are explicitly linked in the provided data. This vulnerability could affect any system or service that relies on Poppler's pdfinfo utility for PDF processing, especially if the '-dests' parameter is used in automated workflows or exposed services. Since pdfinfo is often integrated into larger software stacks or used in backend processing, the DoS could disrupt document processing pipelines or services dependent on PDF metadata extraction.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2024-6239 primarily concerns availability disruptions in systems that utilize Poppler's pdfinfo utility for PDF metadata extraction or processing. Organizations in sectors such as publishing, legal, finance, and government that handle large volumes of PDF documents may experience service interruptions if an attacker submits specially crafted PDF files to systems invoking pdfinfo with the vulnerable '-dests' parameter. This could lead to denial of service conditions affecting document workflows, automated processing pipelines, or user-facing applications that rely on pdfinfo outputs. While the vulnerability does not compromise confidentiality or integrity, the availability impact could cause operational delays, reduced productivity, and potential reputational damage if critical document processing services are disrupted. Additionally, automated systems exposed to untrusted PDF inputs—such as web applications allowing PDF uploads or email gateways performing PDF inspections—are at higher risk. The lack of required privileges or user interaction for exploitation increases the threat level, as attackers can remotely trigger the DoS without authentication. However, the absence of known exploits in the wild suggests that immediate widespread attacks are not yet observed, but proactive mitigation is advisable to prevent future exploitation.

To mitigate CVE-2024-6239, European organizations should take the following specific actions: 1) Update Poppler to a patched version as soon as it becomes available from trusted sources or maintainers, monitoring official Poppler and Linux distribution security advisories closely. 2) Temporarily avoid using the '-dests' parameter with pdfinfo in automated workflows or scripts until a fix is applied, or implement input validation to reject suspicious or untrusted PDF files before processing. 3) Implement sandboxing or containerization for processes invoking pdfinfo to limit the impact of potential crashes and isolate failures from critical systems. 4) Monitor logs and system behavior for unexpected crashes or service interruptions related to pdfinfo usage, enabling rapid detection and response. 5) For web-facing services that accept PDF uploads, employ additional PDF sanitization or scanning tools to detect malformed or malicious PDFs before passing them to pdfinfo. 6) Consider rate limiting or access controls on services that invoke pdfinfo to reduce the risk of denial of service from repeated malicious inputs. These targeted mitigations go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific vulnerable parameter and usage context of pdfinfo.