CVE-2026-57244 in PDF Editor
Summary
by MITRE • 07/08/2026
After JavaScript resetting the form, the synchronization process lacks re-entry protection and object lifecycle verification, resulting in the failure of the control pointer during the traversal process. After the pointer fails, it still continues to dereference, causing the application to crash.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/08/2026
This vulnerability represents a classic use-after-free condition that occurs during form reset operations in JavaScript environments. The flaw manifests when JavaScript code resets a form and subsequently initiates a synchronization process that lacks proper re-entry protection mechanisms and object lifecycle verification. The root cause lies in the improper handling of control pointers during traversal operations, where the system fails to validate whether the referenced objects remain valid after the form reset operation has been executed. When the synchronization process attempts to traverse through objects that have already been modified or destroyed during the reset sequence, the control pointer becomes invalid and fails during the traversal process.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate memory management practices within the JavaScript runtime environment. During form reset operations, objects may be marked for garbage collection while other processes continue to reference them. The absence of proper object lifecycle verification means that the system does not check whether referenced objects are still accessible before attempting to dereference them. This condition directly maps to CWE-416, which describes the use of freed memory vulnerability where a pointer is used after the memory it points to has been freed. The lack of re-entry protection creates a race condition scenario where multiple threads or processes attempt to access the same memory location simultaneously, leading to unpredictable behavior.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple application crashes to potentially enable more severe security consequences. When the application crashes due to improper pointer dereferencing, it can result in denial of service conditions that affect legitimate users and potentially provide attackers with information about system internals. In some cases, this type of vulnerability could be exploited to execute arbitrary code if an attacker can control the memory layout or manipulate the timing of operations to achieve a specific memory state. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for JavaScript and T1499.004 for network denial of service, as it can be leveraged to disrupt system availability.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing comprehensive object lifecycle management within JavaScript environments and establishing proper synchronization mechanisms during form reset operations. The solution requires developers to implement reference counting or garbage collection safeguards that prevent access to freed objects, along with proper mutex locking or semaphore implementations to protect against re-entry conditions. Additionally, code review processes should enforce strict validation of object references before any traversal or dereferencing operations occur. The implementation of automated static analysis tools that can detect potential use-after-free scenarios during development phases will significantly reduce the likelihood of such vulnerabilities reaching production environments. Organizations should also consider implementing runtime protections such as address space layout randomization and stack canaries to make exploitation more difficult if vulnerabilities are present in deployed applications.