CVE-2026-59937
Description
A flaw was found in pypdf, a pure-python PDF library. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability by crafting a malicious PDF file containing repeated malformed cross-reference streams. This could cause the pypdf library to spend excessive time recovering broken cross-reference table entries, leading to a denial of service (DoS) condition for applications processing such files.
Statement
This Moderate-impact denial of service flaw in the pypdf library affects applications processing untrusted PDF files. An attacker could exploit this by providing a specially crafted PDF with malformed cross-reference streams, causing significantly extended processing time.
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 | 6.5 | 7.5 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Network | Network | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | None | None | N/A |
| User Interaction | Required | None | 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:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Red Hat CVSS v3 Score Explanation
Exploit needs a crafted PDF to be opened/processed by the app (user or workflow action), so User Interaction: Required. Network-reachable in the sense that the PDF can arrive over the network, but not a no-interaction remote crash.
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Resource Consumption (Other); Reduce Performance
This issue can make the product perform more slowly. If an attacker can influence the number of iterations in the loop, then this performance problem might allow a denial of service by consuming more platform resources than intended.
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