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CVE-2024-2971· NVD / CVE Program· CNA GandC

Out-of-bounds array access due to negative object numbers in indirect references in Xpdf 4.05

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 22/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.17% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.
  • Severity is disputed: the assigning authority (CNA) scores it 2.9, NVD 5.5.

Low priority for now. Update when a fix is released; follow the vendor's advisory.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

Out-of-bounds array write in Xpdf 4.05 and earlier, triggered by negative object number in indirect reference in the input PDF file.

MediumCVSS 5.5 · v3.1—No exploit No fix recorded
Published
Mar 26, 2024
Updated
Jun 17, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 6th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

22

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
5.5
CNA · GandC
2.9
2.6 point gap

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

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • No fixed version yet

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Follow CVE-2024-2971

When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

One daily email digest (06:00 UTC); connect a webhook for KEV listings and weaponized exploits instantly.

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
xpdfreaderxpdf

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • xpdfreader xpdfup to 4.05 inclusive

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GandC). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • Xpdf Xpdf

    • up to and including 4.05affected · Version

Same product

xpdfreader: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2022-38222There is a use-after-free issue in JBIG2Stream::close() located in JBIG2Stream.cc in Xpdf 4.04.
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2022-38928XPDF 4.04 is vulnerable to Null Pointer Dereference in FoFiType1C.cc:2393.
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2022-38171Xpdf prior to version 4.04 contains an integer overflow in the JBIG2 decoder (JBIG2Stream::readTextRegionSeg() in JBIG2Stream.cc).
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2022-33108XPDF v4.04 was discovered to contain a stack overflow vulnerability via the Object::Copy class of object.cc files.
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2022-30524There is an invalid memory access in the TextLine class in TextOutputDev.cc in Xpdf 4.0.4 because the text extractor mishandles characters a
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2020-35376Xpdf 4.02 allows stack consumption because of an incorrect subroutine reference in a Type 1C font charstring, related to the FoFiType1C::get
    31Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

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.

EPSS, last 120 days

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.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

  • CVE-2021-36493417 days apartBuffer Overflow vulnerability in pdfimages in xpdf 4.03 allows attackers to crash the application via crafted command.
    30Monitor
  • CVE-2024-390022 days apartOut-of-bounds stack array write in Xpdf 4.05 due to missing zero check
    22Monitor
  • CVE-2024-414129 days apartOut-of-bounds array write in Xpdf 4.05 due to incorrect bounds check
    22Monitor
  • CVE-2022-45586405 days apartStack overflow vulnerability in function Dict::find in xpdf/Dict.cc in xpdf 4.04, allows local attackers to cause a denial of service.
    22Monitor
  • CVE-2022-45587405 days apartStack overflow vulnerability in function gmalloc in goo/gmem.cc in xpdf 4.04, allows local attackers to cause a denial of service.
    22Monitor
  • CVE-2022-43071497 days apartA stack overflow in the Catalog::readPageLabelTree2(Object*) function of XPDF v4.04 allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via
    22Monitor

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

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
none
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
None
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds Write

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Change log

No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records