CVE-2010-4653 in Poppler
Summary
by MITRE
An integer overflow condition in poppler before 0.16.3 can occur when parsing CharCodes for fonts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/13/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-4653 represents a critical integer overflow condition within the poppler PDF rendering library version 0.16.2 and earlier. This flaw specifically manifests during the parsing of CharCodes for fonts within PDF documents, creating a potential avenue for remote code execution or denial of service attacks. The poppler library serves as a fundamental component in numerous PDF viewers and processing applications, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for widespread impact across various software ecosystems.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation during font character code parsing operations. When poppler encounters font data containing malformed or excessively large CharCode values, the integer overflow occurs within the memory allocation or processing logic. This condition typically arises when unsigned integer variables exceed their maximum representable values, causing unexpected behavior in the application's memory management and control flow. The flaw operates at the intersection of buffer management and integer arithmetic, where the overflow corrupts memory structures or creates exploitable conditions that adversaries can leverage.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios to encompass potential remote code execution capabilities. Attackers can craft malicious PDF documents containing specially crafted font data that triggers the integer overflow when processed by vulnerable poppler implementations. This creates a significant risk for organizations relying on poppler-based PDF viewers, as simply opening a malicious document could lead to system compromise. The vulnerability affects not only desktop applications but also web-based PDF viewers and server-side PDF processing systems that utilize poppler as their underlying rendering engine. The widespread adoption of poppler across various platforms and applications amplifies the potential attack surface considerably.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-4653 primarily focus on immediate software updates and patches to versions 0.16.3 and later, which contain the necessary fixes for the integer overflow condition. System administrators should prioritize patching all affected applications that utilize poppler libraries, including web browsers, PDF viewers, and document processing systems. Additional protective measures include implementing strict input validation for PDF documents, deploying sandboxing mechanisms for PDF processing, and establishing network-level controls to filter potentially malicious PDF content. Organizations should also consider implementing security monitoring to detect anomalous PDF processing behaviors that might indicate exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-190, which addresses integer overflow conditions, and represents a classic example of how improper integer handling can lead to severe security consequences, potentially enabling techniques described in the ATT&CK framework under privilege escalation and code execution tactics.
The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper integer arithmetic validation in security-sensitive applications, particularly those handling untrusted input data. It underscores the necessity for comprehensive input validation and bounds checking in all memory management operations, especially within libraries that process complex binary formats like PDF documents. The widespread nature of poppler's usage means that this vulnerability affected numerous applications across different operating systems and platforms, highlighting the systemic risk posed by core library vulnerabilities in modern software ecosystems. Organizations should implement robust software supply chain monitoring to detect and respond to similar vulnerabilities in other widely-used components that may present comparable risks.