CVE-2026-38970Network attack vector

Process crash via unrestricted recursive PDF parsing

Published Jul 2, 2026 · Updated Jul 2, 2026

Uncontrolled recursion in pdfcpu 0.11.1 and earlier allows attackers to crash PDF-processing applications via a deeply nested PDF. ParseObjectContext() and parseArray() in pkg/pdfcpu/model/parse.go recursively descend into nested PDF objects and arrays without enforcing a maximum depth. Any workflow that parses an attacker-supplied PDF can exhaust the process stack and terminate the consuming command-line tool or service.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.63%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

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Summary

What happened

Uncontrolled recursion in pdfcpu 0.11.1 and earlier allows attackers to crash PDF-processing applications via a deeply nested PDF. ParseObjectContext() and parseArray() in pkg/pdfcpu/model/parse.go recursively descend into nested PDF objects and arrays without enforcing a maximum depth. Any workflow that parses an attacker-supplied PDF can exhaust the process stack and terminate the consuming command-line tool or service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-38970
Published
Jul 2, 2026
Updated
Jul 2, 2026
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-674, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 2, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jul 2, 2026Record 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 vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5CISA-ADPCVSS: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.

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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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-674Uncontrolled Recursion
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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