Security readout for executives and security teams
A maliciously crafted PDF can make applications using Apache PDFBox run out of memory while loading a small file. The main business risk is service disruption in systems that process untrusted PDFs, such as upload portals, document workflows, or back-office ingestion jobs. Exposure is most likely where PDFBox parses PDFs from users, partners, email attachments, web uploads, document queues, or third-party integrations. Internal-only batch processing is lower urgency unless untrusted PDFs can enter the workflow. Prioritize remediation for internet-facing or business-critical PDF processing systems. This is an availability risk rather than a confirmed breach-enabling vulnerability, but small malicious files causing memory exhaustion can still disrupt customer-facing services. Mitigation focus: Upgrade Apache PDFBox 2.0.x deployments affected by 2.0.23 or earlier.; Use PDFBox 2.0.24 or vendor-supported fixed packages where applicable.; Check downstream products that bundle PDFBox, including application servers and document platforms..
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
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ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-789: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-31811 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
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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 and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/re3bd16f0cc8f1fbda46b06a4b8241cd417f71402809baa81548fc20e%40%3Cusers.pdfbox.apache.org%3ECVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- [announce] 20210612 CVE-2021-31811: Apache PDFBox: A carefully crafted PDF file can trigger an OutOfMemory-Exception while loading a tiny fileCVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- [ofbiz-notifications] 20210613 [jira] [Updated] (OFBIZ-12256) Update PDFBox to 2.0.24 because of CVE-2021-31811 & CVE-2021-31812CVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- [ofbiz-notifications] 20210613 [jira] [Closed] (OFBIZ-12256) Update PDFBox to 2.0.24 because of CVE-2021-31811 & CVE-2021-31812CVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- [ofbiz-commits] 20210613 [ofbiz-framework] branch release17.12 updated: Fixed: Update PDFBox to 2.0.24 because of CVE-2021-31811 & CVE-2021-31812 (OFBIZ-12256)CVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- [ofbiz-commits] 20210613 [ofbiz-framework] branch trunk updated: Fixed: Update PDFBox to 2.0.24 because of CVE-2021-31811 & CVE-2021-31812 (OFBIZ-12256)CVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- [ofbiz-notifications] 20210613 [jira] [Created] (OFBIZ-12256) Update PDFBox to 2.0.24 because of CVE-2021-31811 & CVE-2021-31812CVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- [ofbiz-notifications] 20210613 [jira] [Commented] (OFBIZ-12256) Update PDFBox to 2.0.24 because of CVE-2021-31811 & CVE-2021-31812CVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- [ofbiz-commits] 20210613 [ofbiz-framework] branch release18.12 updated: Fixed: Update PDFBox to 2.0.24 because of CVE-2021-31811 & CVE-2021-31812 (OFBIZ-12256)CVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- FEDORA-2021-4a9ead5fffCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA
- FEDORA-2021-3d94c14be4CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA
- https://www.oracle.com//security-alerts/cpujul2021.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuoct2021.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujan2022.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuapr2022.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2022.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value
Memory Allocation with Excessive Size Value represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.