Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability can crash Poppler when it handles a specially crafted PDF. Poppler is commonly used for PDF processing, so business impact is mainly availability: document preview, conversion, indexing, or extraction workflows could fail when processing hostile files.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate availability risk. It is not described as code execution or data theft, but internet-facing or automated PDF processing systems should be patched promptly to prevent service disruption.
Technical view
CVE-2022-37050 affects Poppler 22.07.0 in PDFDoc::savePageAs. Mishandling of the xref data structure during getCatalog processing can trigger SIGABRT. The CVE notes this resulted from an incomplete fix for CVE-2018-20662. CVSS 3.1 is 6.5, with user interaction required and availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Poppler 22.07.0, or vulnerable downstream packages, process untrusted PDFs. The source data does not enumerate affected products beyond Poppler and Debian security update context.
Exploitation context
A remote attacker would need a crafted PDF to be opened or processed by a vulnerable Poppler workflow. CISA KEV status is false, and the provided sources do not state active exploitation.
Researcher notes
The record links the issue to incomplete remediation of CVE-2018-20662. Affected-version evidence is limited in the bundle, so avoid broad product claims. Focus review on PDFDoc::savePageAs, getCatalog handling, xref validation, and downstream package backports.
Mitigation direction
- Apply the relevant Poppler security update from your operating system or vendor.
- For source builds, include the upstream fix referenced in the Poppler commit.
- Prioritize services that automatically process external or uploaded PDFs.
- Use sandboxing and resource limits around PDF processing where feasible.
- Review Debian LTS advisories if using Debian-packaged Poppler.
Validation and detection
- Inventory hosts and applications that use Poppler for PDF handling.
- Check installed Poppler package versions and vendor changelogs for the fix.
- Confirm PDF upload, preview, indexing, and conversion paths are covered.
- Verify crash handling does not take down broader services.
- Track exceptions where vendor guidance is unavailable or incomplete.
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
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ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-400: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-37050 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H2.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/poppler/poppler/-/issues/1274CVE reference
- https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/poppler/poppler/-/commit/dcd5bd8238ea448addd102ff045badd0aca1b990CVE reference
- [debian-lts-announce] 20231016 [SECURITY] [DLA 3620-1] poppler security updateCVE reference · mailing-list
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/04/msg00037.htmlCVE reference
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.
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.