CVE-2023-50262Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Service interruption via recursive SVG reference validation

Published Dec 13, 2023 · Updated Aug 2, 2024

Uncontrolled recursion in dompdf before 2.0.4 allows remote attackers to crash PDF rendering via chained SVG image references. The image cache's SVG validation rejects only direct self-references and recursively resolves a cycle spanning two or more SVG documents without tracking the reference chain. Exploitation requires an application to render attacker-controlled HTML or SVG; each payload can exhaust the PHP process's time or memory, and repeated requests can interrupt the hosting service.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability1.46%
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 dompdf before 2.0.4 allows remote attackers to crash PDF rendering via chained SVG image references. The image cache's SVG validation rejects only direct self-references and recursively resolves a cycle spanning two or more SVG documents without tracking the reference chain. Exploitation requires an application to render attacker-controlled HTML or SVG; each payload can exhaust the PHP process's time or memory, and repeated requests can interrupt the hosting service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-50262
Published
Dec 13, 2023
Updated
Aug 2, 2024
Vendor
dompdf
Product
dompdf
Classifications
CWE-674, CWE-20, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 13, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 2, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 2.0.4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

dompdf · dompdfversion=< 2.0.4

Published CVSS scores

5.3GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-674Uncontrolled Recursion
CWE-20Improper Input Validation
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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