CVE-2018-13988: Medium severity Freedesktop poppler vulnerability

Published Jul 18, 2018
·
Updated

An out-of-bounds read flaw was found in the Poppler library as demonstrated by pdfunite. This may result in a denial of service or other undefined behavior. This flaw may be exploitable when a victim opens a specially crafted PDF file.

Upstream Patch: https://cgit.freedesktop.org/poppler/poppler/commit/?id=004e3c10df0abda214f0c293f9e269fdd979c5ee

Other sources

Poppler through 0.62 contains an out of bounds read vulnerability due to an incorrect memory access that is not mapped in its memory space, as demonstrated by pdfunite. This can result in memory corruption and denial of service. This may be exploitable when a victim opens a specially crafted PDF file.

Launchpad

Affected Software

12 affected componentsFixes available
redhat/poppler<0.67.0
0.67.0
Freedesktop poppler<=0.62.0
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=14.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=16.04
Canonical Ubuntu Linux=18.04
Debian Debian Linux=8.0
redhat Ansible Tower=3.3.0
redhat OpenShift Container Platform=3.11
redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop=7.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Server=7.0
redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation=7.0
debian/poppler
20.09.0-3.1+deb11u120.09.0-3.1+deb11u222.12.0-2+deb12u125.03.0-5+deb13u225.03.0-11.1

Event History

Jul 25, 2018
CVE Published
via MITRE·11:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·11:00 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·11:29 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software
Jan 11, 2024
Data Sourced
via Launchpad·10:51 PM
Description
Feb 20, 2026
Data Sourced
via Ubuntu·04:59 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityAffected Software
Data Sourced
via Debian·05:00 PM
DescriptionAffected Software
Free Weekly Intel

Don't miss critical vulnerabilities

Join thousands of security professionals who receive our weekly digest of trending CVEs, zero-days, and exploited vulnerabilities.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is CVE-2018-13988?

CVE-2018-13988 is an out of bounds read vulnerability in Poppler through 0.62, which can result in memory corruption and denial of service.

2

Which software is affected by CVE-2018-13988?

CVE-2018-13988 affects Poppler versions 0.41.0-0ubuntu1.8, 0.62.0-2ubuntu2.2, 0.24.5-2ubuntu4.12, 0.67.0, 0.71.0-5, 0.71.0-5+deb10u3, 20.09.0-3.1+deb11u1, and 22.12.0-2.

3

What is the severity of CVE-2018-13988?

CVE-2018-13988 has a severity rating of 6.5 (medium).

4

How can CVE-2018-13988 be exploited?

CVE-2018-13988 can be exploited when a victim opens a specially crafted PDF file.

5

Is there a fix available for CVE-2018-13988?

Yes, remedy packages are available for the affected versions of Poppler. Please refer to the official sources for the specific fixes.

Contact

SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
132 Wickham Terrace
Fortitude Valley,
QLD 4006, Australia
info@secalerts.co
By using SecAlerts services, you agree to our services end-user license agreement. This website is safeguarded by reCAPTCHA and governed by the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. All names, logos, and brands of products are owned by their respective owners, and any usage of these names, logos, and brands for identification purposes only does not imply endorsement. If you possess any content that requires removal, please get in touch with us.
© 2026 SecAlerts Pty Ltd.
ABN: 70 645 966 203, ACN: 645 966 203