Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2018-9918

libqpdf.a in QPDF through 8.0.2 mishandles certain "expected dictionary key but found non-name object" cases, allowing remote attackers to cause a denial of service (stack exhaustion), related to the QPDFObjectHandle and QPDF_Dictionary classes, because nesting in direct objects is not restricted.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8, requiring local system access to exploit with relatively low complexity though user interaction is required and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 2 products from qpdf_project, from canonical organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2018, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.

Published

2018-04-10T18:29:00.450

Last Modified

2024-11-21T04:15:50.427

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.0: 7.8 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: MEDIUM
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

8.6

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-674

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	qpdf_project	qpdf	≤ 8.0.2	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	14.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	16.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	17.10	Yes

References

https://github.com/qpdf/qpdf/commit/b4d6cf6836ce025ba1811b7bbec52680c7204223 Patch ([email protected])
https://github.com/qpdf/qpdf/issues/202 Exploit, Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3638-1/ Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://github.com/qpdf/qpdf/commit/b4d6cf6836ce025ba1811b7bbec52680c7204223 Patch (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://github.com/qpdf/qpdf/issues/202 Exploit, Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3638-1/ Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For qpdf_project's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.