# CVE-2019-9588: Memory corruption in n/a

> An attacker can cause a denial of service via a crafted PDF file due to invalid memory access in the Xpdf library.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** No
- **Published:** 6 Mar 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x665-4558-c73x, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-9588

## What is CVE-2019-9588?

CVE-2019-9588 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Glyphandcog Xpdfreader, published on 6 Mar 2019. 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

There is an Invalid memory access in gAtomicIncrement() located at GMutex.h in Xpdf 4.01. It can be triggered by sending a crafted pdf file to (for example) the pdftops binary. It allows an attacker to cause Denial of Service (Segmentation fault) or possibly have unspecified other impact.

Weakness: CWE-119 (Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-9588?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Glyphandcog Xpdfreader.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-9588?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-9588 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-9588 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-9588 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Glyphandcog Xpdfreader

- [CVE-2022-24106](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-24106/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-24107](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-24107/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2019-16115](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-16115/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2019-14288](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-14288/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2019-13289](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-13289/): Use after free in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-9588 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-9588 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Glyphandcog Xpdfreader, published on 6 Mar 2019. 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-2019-9588 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Glyphandcog Xpdfreader. 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-2019-9588/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9588/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-9588
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-9588
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-9588

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9588/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.