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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2026-102994

pypdf: Possible long runtimes/large memory usage when parsing indirect objects

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2026-09-30
  • Fixed in6.18.0
  • WeaknessCWE-400 · CWE-407

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

pypdf is a free and open-source pure-python PDF library. Prior to 6.18.0, a crafted PDF containing indirect-object identifiers or generation-number tokens that continue for a long time without whitespace can cause pypdf/_reader.py and pypdf/generic/_base.py to scan excessive input through read_until_whitespace, resulting in long runtimes and application unavailability. This issue is fixed in version 6.18.0.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2026-09-3020:17CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 15:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2026-102994?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2026-102994?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD · OSV
Pypdf project pypdf
BranchAffectedFixed in
6.18< 6.18.06.18.0

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Distribution builds and vendor advisories

Packages from OSV.dev and products from the vendors' CSAF advisories.

version not verifiedVersions not verified: read as OSV.dev and the vendors publish them, not checked against each vendor's release list.

Vendor advisories

  • CVE-2026-102994 Red Hat Product Security8 products fixed · 12 known affected

    pypdf: pypdf: Denial of Service via crafted indirect object tokens in PDF files

    ansible-automation-platform/automation-orchestrator-backend-rhel9 as a component of Ansible Automation Orchestrator 2026 · lightspeed-core/lightspeed-stack-rhel9 as a component of Lightspeed Core · lightspeed-core/rag-tool-cpu-rhel9 as a component of Lightspeed Core · +9 more

  • RHSA-2026:85980 Red Hat Product Security4 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Quay

  • RHSA-2026:83822 Red Hat Product Security4 products fixed

    Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Quay

Full record on NVD

Fix

  1. Update Pypdf project pypdf to 6.18.0
  2. Vendor fix Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2026:85980 · 4 productsBefore applying this update, make sure all previously released errata relevant to your system have been applied.
  3. Workaround from the vendor Red Hat Product Security RHSA-2026:85980 · 31 productsMitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.
  4. No fix available, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2026-102994 · 10 productsAffected
  5. No fix planned, says the vendor Red Hat Product Security CVE-2026-102994 · 2 productsWill not fix

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
none listed
PoC-in-GitHub

Sources

  • CISA-ADPSSVC decisionnone2026-09-30
  • OpenCVESSVC decisionnone—
  • CNACVSS 4.08.7read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.17.5read 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-400, CWE-407read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score0.3 %2026-10-22
  • OSVaffected packages—

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CVSS 4.0 vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/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
Published
2026-09-30
Last Modified
2026-10-05
NVD status
Analyzed

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-102994?

pypdf is a free and open-source pure-python PDF library. Prior to 6.18.0, a crafted PDF containing indirect-object identifiers or generation-number tokens that continue for a long time without whitespace can cause pypdf/_reader.py and pypdf/generic/_base.py to scan excessive input through read_until_whitespace, resulting in long runtimes and application unavailability. This issue is fixed in version 6.18.0.

Is CVE-2026-102994 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2026-102994 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 0.3% on 2026-10-22, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-102994?

CVE-2026-102994 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.5 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

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