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MEDIUM severity

CVE-2021-31812 — pdfbox

MEDIUM

CVE-2021-31812 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.5) CWE-834 vulnerability in org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox. A fix is available for org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Infinite Loop in Apache PDFBox

Also known asGHSA-7grw-6pjh-jpc9
Published
Updated
Affected
2 pkgs
Patched
2 / 2
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Nov 7, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
3.1%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Lower Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs88th percentile — riskier than 88% of all scored CVEsHighest risk
0.00%1.30%2.60%3.90%0.2%3.1%May 26Sep 26Nov 26

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected
☕org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox☕org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox-parent

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

In Apache PDFBox, a carefully crafted PDF file can trigger an infinite loop while loading the file. This issue affects Apache PDFBox version 2.0.23 and prior 2.0.x versions.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
☕Mavenorg.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.0.242.0.24org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox:2.0.24
☕Mavenorg.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox-parent≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.0.242.0.24org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox-parent:2.0.24

Affected Products

7 products · 14 configurations
Application
pdfboxapache
≥ 2.0.0 && ≤ 2.0.23
range
OS
fedorafedoraproject
2 versions
3334
Application
banking corporate lending process managementoracle
3 versions
14.2.014.3.014.5.0
Application
banking credit facilities process managementoracle
3 versions
14.2.014.3.014.5.0
Application
banking supply chain financeoracle
3 versions
14.2.014.3.014.5.0
OS
communications messaging serveroracle
1 version
8.1

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

  2. Fix

    Update org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox to 2.0.24 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2021-31812 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. Workarounds

    Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatLow
RHSA-2021:4918Red Hat Integration

Frequently Asked Questions

In Apache PDFBox, a carefully crafted PDF file can trigger an infinite loop while loading the file. This issue affects Apache PDFBox version 2.0.23 and prior 2.0.x versions.
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

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CVE-2021-31812: pdfbox — Fixed in 2.0.24