CVE-2022-38334Public exploit

Application crash via recursive PDF page-tree loop

Published Sep 15, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Uncontrolled recursion in Xpdf 4.04 and earlier allows attackers to crash a local Xpdf process by opening a crafted PDF file. Catalog::countPageTree follows PDF page-tree object references recursively without detecting a loop, exhausting the call stack. Exploitation requires a user to process the file, and the demonstrated consequence is a segmentation-fault crash rather than code execution.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.41%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Uncontrolled recursion in Xpdf 4.04 and earlier allows attackers to crash a local Xpdf process by opening a crafted PDF file. Catalog::countPageTree follows PDF page-tree object references recursively without detecting a loop, exhausting the call stack. Exploitation requires a user to process the file, and the demonstrated consequence is a segmentation-fault crash rather than code execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-38334
Published
Sep 15, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-674, T1204.002, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 15, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-674Uncontrolled Recursion
T1204.002Malicious File
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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