CVE-2026-119204
Description
A flaw was found in pypdf. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability by enticing a user or automated processing service to open a crafted PDF file containing shared page resources. When parsing the document's page tree structure, the library copies inherited resource entries without an allocation limit, leading to excessive memory usage. This issue can exhaust available system memory and cause the application to crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as Moderate severity because exploitation requires an attacker to induce an affected service or user to process an untrusted, maliciously formatted PDF file, and the impact is restricted to resource exhaustion resulting in denial of service. The flaw does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, nor does it allow code execution. In Red Hat environments, processing typically occurs within containerized workloads or retrieval-augmented generation pipelines, limiting the blast radius primarily to the individual ingestion worker or application process.
Mitigation
Upgrade pypdf to 6.21.4 or later, which enforces a document-wide entry budget during page-tree flattening; as interim mitigation, limit memory for PDF-processing workloads and restrict processing of untrusted PDFs in ingestion pipelines.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | 5.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | None | N/A |
| User Interaction | Required | Required | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | None | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | None | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
When allocating resources without limits, an attacker could prevent other systems, applications, or processes from accessing the same type of resource. It can be easy for an attacker to consume many resources by rapidly making many requests or causing larger resources to be used than is needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
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