CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2019-9878 — Pdfalto Project Pdfalto security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.8

There is an invalid memory access in the function GfxIndexedColorSpace::mapColorToBase() located in GfxState.cc in Xpdf 4.0.0, as used in pdfalto 0.2. It can be triggered by (for example) sending a crafted pdf file to the pdftops binary. It allows an attacker to cause Denial of Service (Segmentation fault) or possibly have unspecified other impact.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.0)
Published
2019-03-21
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-125

Affected products

  • pdfalto_project / pdfalto / 0.2
  • xpdfreader / xpdf / 4.0.0

Matched remediation archetype

Buffer bounds, memory safety, and memory corruption

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Identify affected native-code versions, build flags, architectures, parsers, codecs, drivers, and input paths in all shipped artifacts.
  • Determine whether untrusted data reaches the affected routine and the process privilege, sandbox, and network exposure.
  • Confirm statically linked, vendored, firmware, and platform-provided copies, not only package-manager records.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained upstream correction or replace the affected component, then rebuild every dependent artifact from clean inputs.
  • Adopt bounds-checked interfaces, validated sizes and integer conversions, clear ownership, and memory-safe components where practical.
  • Enable supported compiler and runtime hardening and add sanitized tests and fuzz regression seeds derived from non-weaponized fixtures.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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