Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2018-25306 is a crash vulnerability in PDFunite 0.41.0. A malformed PDF can make the merge utility fail with a segmentation fault. The documented impact is application availability, not confirmed data theft or remote code execution. Risk is highest where PDFunite processes untrusted PDFs automatically.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate operational risk. It is most urgent for document-processing platforms where failed PDF merges disrupt business workflows. There is public exploit information, but no sourced evidence of active exploitation or confirmed code execution.
Technical view
The issue is a CWE-120 buffer overflow in PDFunite 0.41.0, triggered during merge operations. Sources identify the crash path in libpoppler's XRef::getEntry function. CVSS 4.0 is 6.9 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, and high vulnerable-system availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to systems running PDFunite 0.41.0 from poppler-utils, especially scripts, batch jobs, or document workflows that merge PDFs from untrusted sources. Internet exposure is not indicated unless a service wraps PDFunite and accepts external uploads.
Exploitation context
A public ExploitDB entry exists, but the source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The described outcome is a local application crash from processing a crafted PDF, not a confirmed broader compromise path.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a local denial-of-service condition in PDFunite 0.41.0 via malformed PDFs. The bundle names ExploitDB and VulnCheck references, but does not provide a confirmed patch version or KEV status. Avoid assuming impact beyond crash without additional vendor analysis.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory systems using PDFunite 0.41.0 or affected poppler-utils packages.
- Avoid processing untrusted PDFs with PDFunite until vendor guidance is confirmed.
- Check Ubuntu, Poppler, and distribution advisories for fixed package guidance.
- Isolate PDF merge jobs handling external documents from critical services.
- Monitor batch PDF workflows for crashes or repeated malformed-input failures.
Validation and detection
- Check installed PDFunite or poppler-utils package versions.
- Identify automated workflows invoking PDFunite on uploaded or third-party PDFs.
- Review logs for pdfunite segmentation faults during merge operations.
- Confirm whether vendor or distribution packages supersede version 0.41.0.
- Prioritize validation on systems processing external PDFs at scale.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-120: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-25306 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.9 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
6.9MediumVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- ExploitDB-44490CVE reference · exploit
- Official Product HomepageCVE reference · product
- Product ReferenceCVE reference · product
- VulnCheck Advisory: PDFunite 0.41.0 Buffer Overflow via Malformed PDFCVE reference · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')
Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.