Dompdf: File existence oracle via font-face stylesheet declaration
Dompdf is an HTML to PDF converter for PHP. Versions 3.15 and prior are vulnerable to a File Existence Oracle attack through the manipulation of the CSS @font-face directive. By providing malicious HTML that references local files via the file:// protocol repeatedly, an attacker can trigger PHP memory exhaustion. Because Dompdf behaves differently depending on whether a referenced local file exists (an existing file is processed repeatedly until it triggers an "Allowed memory size exhausted" crash, whereas a missing file fails fast or is ignored and never hits the memory limit), an attacker can use this observable discrepancy as an oracle to enumerate sensitive files on the server regardless of CHROOT restrictions. Exploitation requires the attacker to supply unrestricted or unsanitized HTML in a request that permits large data, plus a configuration where Dompdf's memory limit is low enough to be exhausted (with $_dompdf_show_warnings=true making the overflow easier to reach). This issue has been fixed in version 3.16.
- Published
- Jul 28, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.5% · 41th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-203
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Report tools
Action score
9
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 9 / 40 · 2.3 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.5%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- proof of concept
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · GitHub_M
- 2.3
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| dompdf project | dompdf | cpe:2.3:a:dompdf_project:dompdf |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- dompdf project dompdfbefore 3.16
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
dompdf dompdf
- < 3.1.6affected
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | php-dompdf | all versions | — |
| Packagist | dompdf/dompdf | before 3.1.6 | 3.1.6 |
Same product
dompdf project: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2022-28368Dompdf 1.2.1 allows remote code execution via a .php file in the src:url field of an @font-face Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) statement (with64This week
- CVE-2023-24813URI validation failure on SVG parsing. Bypass of CVE-2023-2392440Plan
- CVE-2023-23924URI validation failure on SVG parsing in Dompdf40Plan
- CVE-2021-3902Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference in dompdf/dompdf39Monitor
- CVE-2021-3838PHAR Deserialization in dompdf/dompdf39Monitor
- CVE-2014-5013DOMPDF before 0.6.2 allows remote code execution, a related issue to CVE-2014-2383.36Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| dompdf dompdf | 3.16 · description | Vendor (CNA) |
| Packagist:dompdf/dompdf | 3.1.6 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- Integrity
- Availability
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- P
- Scope
- X
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-203 · Observable DiscrepancyCVSS vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
nvd-secondary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- github.com/dompdf/dompdf/commit/75c39a083bf7298044fb27399b4cc183054438b4
- github.com/dompdf/dompdf/releases/tag/v3.1.6
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.