CVE-2026-27888 | pypdf: Manipulated FlateDecode XFA streams can exhaust RAM

pypdf is a free and open-source pure-python PDF library. Prior to 6.7.3, an attacker who uses this vulnerability can craft a PDF which leads to the RAM being exhausted. This requires accessing the `xfa` property of a reader or writer and the corresponding stream being compressed using `/FlateDecode`. This has been fixed in pypdf 6.7.3. As a workaround, apply the patch manually.

Published: 2026-02-26 Last update: 2026-02-27 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-27888 is rated Low Risk (32.1/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.05%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-27888

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 2026-03-30 0.04% 0.05% +0.01%
2 2026-02-26 — 0.04% —

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-27888

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.6 4.0 MEDIUM
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and stable.
Attack requirements (AT:N)
No additional preconditions are required beyond normal reachability.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No privileges are required.
User interaction (UI:N)
No user interaction is required.
Vulnerable system confidentiality impact (VC:N)
No confidentiality impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system integrity impact (VI:N)
No integrity impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system availability impact (VA:H)
High availability impact on the vulnerable system.
Subsequent system confidentiality impact (SC:N)
No confidentiality impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system integrity impact (SI:N)
No integrity impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system availability impact (SA:N)
No availability impact on subsequent systems.
Exploit maturity (threat) (E:U)
Unreported: no public PoC, no reported exploitation, and no known simplification tools.
Confidentiality requirement (CR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Integrity requirement (IR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Availability requirement (AR:X)
Not defined: insufficient information; scoring treats this like High (worst case).
Modified attack vector (MAV:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Vector (AV).
Modified attack complexity (MAC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Complexity (AC).
Modified attack requirements (MAT:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Attack Requirements (AT).
Modified privileges required (MPR:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base Privileges Required (PR).
Modified user interaction (MUI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base User Interaction (UI).
Modified vulnerable system confidentiality impact (MVC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VC metric.
Modified vulnerable system integrity impact (MVI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VI metric.
Modified vulnerable system availability impact (MVA:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base VA metric.
Modified subsequent system confidentiality impact (MSC:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SC metric.
Modified subsequent system integrity impact (MSI:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SI metric.
Modified subsequent system availability impact (MSA:X)
Not defined: scoring uses the Base SA metric.
Safety (supplemental) (S:X)
Not evaluated.
Automatable (supplemental) (AU:X)
Not evaluated.
Recovery (supplemental) (R:X)
Not evaluated.
Value density (supplemental) (V:X)
Not evaluated.
Vulnerability response effort (supplemental) (RE:X)
Not evaluated.
Provider urgency (supplemental) (U:X)
Not evaluated.
 — — [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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.
 3.9 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-27888

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-27888

GHSA-x7hp-r3qg-r3cj · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: pip — pypdf: Manipulated FlateDecode XFA streams can exhaust RAM

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-27888

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-27888 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 2 source packages (pypdf, pypdf2), 6 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): open 4, resolved 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-27888
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-27888
suse medium CVE-2026-27888 severity moderate: SUSE including 2 source package names (python311-PyPDF2-2.11.1-5.1, python313-PyPDF2-2.11.1-5.1), 2 product×package rows across 1 product lines (openSUSE Tumbleweed): Fixed 2. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-27888/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-27888 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (pypdf), 4 status rows across 4 suites (jammy, noble, questing, upstream): needs-triage 3, DNE 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-27888

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-27888

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
pypdf_project pypdf < 6.7.3 cpe:2.3:a:pypdf_project:pypdf:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-27888

cvelogic Threat Intelligence