# CVE-2016-6265: Use after free in n/a

> Remote attackers can cause a denial of service via a crafted PDF file exploiting a use-after-free flaw in MuPDF.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Sep 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2016-6265, GHSA-mqfm-r5w2-p74j, MGASA-2016-0268, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-6265, openSUSE-SU-2024:10179-1

## What is CVE-2016-6265?

CVE-2016-6265 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Artifex Mupdf, published on 22 Sep 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Use-after-free vulnerability in the pdf_load_xref function in pdf/pdf-xref.c in MuPDF allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a crafted PDF file.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-6265?

It affects 3 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `mupdf` | openSUSE:Tumbleweed | All versions | 1.10-1.1 |

Products: Artifex Mupdf, Opensuse Leap, Opensuse Opensuse.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-6265?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2016-6265 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6265 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Artifex Mupdf

- [CVE-2019-7321](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-7321/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-6525](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6525/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2011-0341](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-0341/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2016-8728](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-8728/): Memory corruption in MuPDF (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2021-3407](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3407/): Use after free in mupdf (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-6265 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-6265 is a medium-severity use after free vulnerability in Artifex Mupdf, published on 22 Sep 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-6265 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Artifex Mupdf. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6265/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6265/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-6265
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-6265
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-6265

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6265/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.