VulnerabilityPublished 3 Feb 2026Updated 11 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-70559: pdfminer-six · Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Affects pdfminer-sixSource CVE Database V5

Mentioned vulnerabilities

CVE-2025-64512

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium : upgrade to 20251230 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 25% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 20251230

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
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: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to 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 3 Feb 2026
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

Upgrade pdfminer-six to 20251230.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
PyPIpdfminer-six`pkg:pypi/pdfminer-six`Other threats	Affected <20251230	Fixed in 20251230

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

AI-suggested

Apply patches or upgrade pdfminer.six to version 20251230 or later once available to ensure the deserialization vulnerability is fixed.
If you cannot patch yet, restrict write permissions on directories used for CMap cache files to trusted users only, preventing attackers from placing malicious pickle files.
Implement strict input validation and sandboxing around PDF processing workflows to limit exposure to untrusted files.
Monitor file system locations used by pdfminer.six for unexpected or suspicious files.
Use application whitelisting and runtime protections to detect or block unauthorized code execution attempts.
Consider isolating PDF processing services in containers or restricted environments to limit impact of potential exploitation.
Review and harden access controls and logging around systems using pdfminer.six to detect and respond to suspicious activity promptly.

Description

pdfminer.six before 20251230 contains an insecure deserialization vulnerability in the CMap loading mechanism. The library uses Python pickle to deserialize CMap cache files without validation. An attacker with the ability to place a malicious pickle file in a location accessible to the application can trigger arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation when the file is loaded by a trusted process. This is caused by an incomplete patch to CVE-2025-64512.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2025-70559 depends on their use of pdfminer.six in document processing, data extraction, or PDF analysis workflows. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation, potentially allowing attackers to compromise systems, steal sensitive information, or move laterally within networks. Confidentiality and integrity of data processed by vulnerable applications are at risk. Organizations handling sensitive documents or operating in regulated sectors (finance, healthcare, government) could face significant operational and compliance consequences. The vulnerability does not affect availability directly but could be leveraged as a foothold for further attacks. Since exploitation requires the attacker to place a malicious pickle file accessible to the application, environments with weak file system permissions or those processing files from untrusted sources are particularly vulnerable. European entities relying on automated PDF processing in cloud or on-premises environments should assess exposure carefully.

CWE-502Deserialization of Untrusted Data (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumCWE Top 25 (2025): #15OWASP Top 10 A08:2025: Software or Data Integrity Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.
Architecture and Design · Implementation
If available, use the signing/sealing features of the programming language to assure that deserialized data has not been tainted. For example, a hash-based message authentication code (HMAC) could be used to ensure that data has not been modified.
Implementation
When deserializing data, populate a new object rather than just deserializing. The result is that the data flows through safe input validation and that the functions are safe.
Implementation
Explicitly define a final object() to prevent deserialization.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
XML External Entity Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Software Supply Chain Security (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.5.2 (opens in a new tab)
V5.5.3 (opens in a new tab)
V5.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Object Injection (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 12 Feb 2026, 06:52 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-502

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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