CVE-2024-42358 | Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') in pdfio

Exp

PDFio is a simple C library for reading and writing PDF files. There is a denial of service (DOS) vulnerability in the TTF parser. Maliciously crafted TTF files can cause the program to utilize 100% of the Memory and enter an infinite loop. This can also lead to a heap-buffer-overflow vulnerability. An infinite loop occurs in the read_camp function by nGroups value. The ttf.h library is vulnerable. A value called nGroups is extracted from the file, and by changing that value, you can cause the program to utilize 100% of the Memory and enter an infinite loop. If the value of nGroups in the file is small, an infinite loop will not occur. This library, whether used as a standalone binary or as part of another application, is vulnerable to DOS attacks when parsing certain types of files. Automated systems, including web servers that use this code to convert PDF submissions into plaintext, can be DOSed if an attacker uploads a malicious TTF file. This issue has been addressed in release version 1.3.1. All users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Published: 2024-08-06 Last update: 2024-08-12 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2024-42358 is rated Exploit Available (59.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.32%). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2024-42358

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2024-42358

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-07 0.10% 0.32% +0.22%
2 2026-01-30 0.32% 0.10% -0.22%
3 2025-11-21 0.32%

Full EPSS history (11 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-42358

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.2 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.5 3.6 [email protected]
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-42358

OS Trackers for CVE-2024-42358

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2024-42358 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (ippsample), 3 status rows across 3 suites (bookworm, forky, sid): resolved 3. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2024-42358
ubuntu medium CVE-2024-42358 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (ippsample), 8 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, upstream): needs-triage 6, ignored 2. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2024-42358

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-42358

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
msweet pdfio < 1.3.1 cpe:2.3:a:msweet:pdfio:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2024-42358

cvelogic Threat Intelligence