# CVE-2017-7511: Null dereference in poppler

> A NULL pointer dereference in poppler's pdfunite tool allows attackers to cause a denial of service via specially crafted PDF documents.

- **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:** 30 May 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2017-7511, GHSA-mqrh-mcfq-vc54, UBUNTU-CVE-2017-7511

## What is CVE-2017-7511?

CVE-2017-7511 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Freedesktop Poppler, published on 30 May 2017. 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

poppler since version 0.17.3 has been vulnerable to NULL pointer dereference in pdfunite triggered by specially crafted documents.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-7511?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Freedesktop Poppler.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-7511?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2017-7511 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-7511 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Freedesktop Poppler

- [CVE-2018-21009](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-21009/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-12293](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-12293/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-10872](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-10872/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-9543](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9543/): Denial of service in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-9545](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9545/): Denial of service in n/a (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-7511 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-7511 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Freedesktop Poppler, published on 30 May 2017. 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-2017-7511 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Freedesktop Poppler. 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-2017-7511/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7511/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-7511
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-7511
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-7511

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7511/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.