GHSA-6fj4-rcr3-r7rr
lopdf has a stack overflow via deeply nested PDF objects
GHSA-6fj4-rcr3-r7rr is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in lopdf, published June 21, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. Fixed in lopdf 0.42.0.
- Severity
- 7.5 HighCVSS 3.1, GitHub Advisories
- Exploit chance
- UnscoredNo EPSS score yet
- Exploitation
- None knownNot on CISA’s or ENISA’s lists
- Fixed in
0.42.0lopdf +1 more
Description
lopdf::Document::load_mem (and the other load* entry points) parses nested PDF arrays and dictionaries with unbounded recursion. A small crafted PDF whose Catalog contains a deeply nested array (/X [[[ … ]]], on the order of 10,000 levels) exhausts the call stack and aborts the process with SIGABRT.
Because this is a stack-overflow abort rather than a panic!, it cannot be caught with catch_unwind: any service that parses untrusted PDF input with lopdf can be crashed by a ~21 KB file, resulting in a denial of service.
Confirmed on lopdf 0.41.0 and earlier; fixed in 0.42.0. Default configuration, no features changed.
Proof of concept
fn main() {
let bytes = std::fs::read("poc.pdf").unwrap(); // ~10,380-deep nested array in the Catalog
let _ = lopdf::Document::load_mem(&bytes); // stack overflow -> SIGABRT
}
An equivalent PoC is a minimal PDF whose Catalog /X value is "[" * 10380 + "]" * 10380.
Suggested fix
Enforce a maximum object-nesting depth in the parser and return an Err instead of recursing without bound.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Affected packages
What each source reports
GitHub Advisories Score used 7.5
lopdf has a stack overflow via deeply nested PDF objects
lopdf::Document::load_mem (and the other load* entry points) parses nested PDF arrays and dictionaries with unbounded recursion. A small crafted PDF whose Catalog contains a deeply nested array (/X [[[ … ]]], on the order of 10,000 levels) exhausts the call stack and aborts the process with SIGABRT.
Because this is a stack-overflow abort rather than a panic!, it cannot be caught with catch_unwind: any service that parses untrusted PDF input with lopdf can be crashed by a ~21 KB file, resulting in a denial of service.
Confirmed on lopdf 0.41.0 and earlier; fixed in 0.42.0. Default configuration, no features changed.
Proof of concept
fn main() {
let bytes = std::fs::read("poc.pdf").unwrap(); // ~10,380-deep nested array in the Catalog
let _ = lopdf::Document::load_mem(&bytes); // stack overflow -> SIGABRT
}
An equivalent PoC is a minimal PDF whose Catalog /X value is "[" * 10380 + "]" * 10380.
Suggested fix
Enforce a maximum object-nesting depth in the parser and return an Err instead of recursing without bound.
- Record
GHSA-6fj4-rcr3-r7rr- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-1124
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV 7.5
lopdf has a stack overflow via deeply nested PDF objects
lopdf::Document::load_mem (and the other load* entry points) parses nested PDF arrays and dictionaries with unbounded recursion. A small crafted PDF whose Catalog contains a deeply nested array (/X [[[ … ]]], on the order of 10,000 levels) exhausts the call stack and aborts the process with SIGABRT.
Because this is a stack-overflow abort rather than a panic!, it cannot be caught with catch_unwind: any service that parses untrusted PDF input with lopdf can be crashed by a ~21 KB file, resulting in a denial of service.
Confirmed on lopdf 0.41.0 and earlier; fixed in 0.42.0. Default configuration, no features changed.
Proof of concept
fn main() {
let bytes = std::fs::read("poc.pdf").unwrap(); // ~10,380-deep nested array in the Catalog
let _ = lopdf::Document::load_mem(&bytes); // stack overflow -> SIGABRT
}
An equivalent PoC is a minimal PDF whose Catalog /X value is "[" * 10380 + "]" * 10380.
Suggested fix
Enforce a maximum object-nesting depth in the parser and return an Err instead of recursing without bound.
- Record
GHSA-6fj4-rcr3-r7rr- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-1124
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVRUSTSEC-2026-0187 7.5
Stack overflow in lopdf via deeply nested PDF objects
lopdf::Document::load_mem (and the other load* entry points) parses nested PDF arrays and dictionaries with unbounded recursion. A small crafted PDF whose Catalog contains a deeply nested array (/X [[[ … ]]], on the order of 10,000 levels) exhausts the call stack and aborts the process with SIGABRT.
Because this is a stack-overflow abort rather than a panic!, it cannot be caught with catch_unwind: any service that parses untrusted PDF input with lopdf can be crashed by a ~21 KB file, resulting in a denial of service.
Confirmed on lopdf 0.41.0 and earlier; fixed in 0.42.0. Default configuration, no features changed.
Proof of concept
fn main() {
let bytes = std::fs::read("poc.pdf").unwrap(); // ~10,380-deep nested array in the Catalog
let _ = lopdf::Document::load_mem(&bytes); // stack overflow -> SIGABRT
}
An equivalent PoC is a minimal PDF whose Catalog /X value is "[" * 10380 + "]" * 10380.
Suggested fix
Enforce a maximum object-nesting depth in the parser and return an Err instead of recursing without bound.
- Record
RUSTSEC-2026-0187- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | GitHub Advisories, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
References
github.com/J-F-Liu/lopdf/issues/502
github.com/J-F-Liu/lopdf/pull/503
github.com/J-F-Liu/lopdf/commit/c755394ad7dd651ccfe77c618f90ab779da1dfd9
rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2026-0187.html
github.com/advisories/GHSA-6fj4-rcr3-r7rr
github.com/J-F-Liu/lopdf
crates.io/crates/lopdf
github.com/J-F-Liu/lopdf/commit/c755394