# CVE-2019-9959: Integer overflow in n/a

> An integer overflow in Poppler allows attackers to trigger excessive heap memory allocation, potentially causing a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Jul 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2019-9959, DEBIAN-CVE-2019-9959, DLA-1963-1, GHSA-834c-4748-827j, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-9959

## What is CVE-2019-9959?

CVE-2019-9959 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 22 Jul 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

The JPXStream::init function in Poppler 0.78.0 and earlier doesn't check for negative values of stream length, leading to an Integer Overflow, thereby making it possible to allocate a large memory chunk on the heap, with a size controlled by an attacker, as demonstrated by pdftocairo.

Weakness: CWE-190 (Integer Overflow or Wraparound)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-9959?

It affects 7 products.


Products: Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Freedesktop Poppler, Redhat Enterprise Linux, Redhat Enterprise Linux Eus, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Aus, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Tus.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-9959?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2019-9959 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-9959 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux

- [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-9959 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-9959 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 22 Jul 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-9959 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. 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-2019-9959/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9959/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-9959
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-9959
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-9959

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9959/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.