CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2023-24813 — Dompdf is an HTML to PDF converter written in php

Critical CVSS 10

Dompdf is an HTML to PDF converter written in php. Due to the difference in the attribute parser of Dompdf and php-svg-lib, an attacker can still call arbitrary URLs with arbitrary protocols. Dompdf parses the href attribute of `image` tags and respects `xlink:href` even if `href` is specified. However, php-svg-lib, which is later used to parse the svg file, parses the href attribute. Since `href` is respected if both `xlink:href` and `href` is specified, it's possible to bypass the protection on the Dompdf side by providing an empty `xlink:href` attribute. An attacker can exploit the vulnerability to call arbitrary URLs with arbitrary protocols if they provide an SVG file to the Dompdf. In PHP versions before 8.0.0, it leads to arbitrary unserialize, which will lead, at the very least, to arbitrary file deletion and might lead to remote code execution, depending on available classes. This vulnerability has been addressed in commit `95009ea98` which has been included in release version 2.0.3. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Severity
Critical
CVSS
10 (3.1)
Published
2023-02-07
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-436

Affected products

  • dompdf_project / dompdf / 2.0.2

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

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Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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