# CVE-2020-35702: Memory corruption in n/a

> Heap-based buffer overflow in Poppler's DCTStream allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via crafted PDFs.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/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:** 25 Dec 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-fcqx-5rp6-c5pj

## What is CVE-2020-35702?

CVE-2020-35702 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Freedesktop Poppler, published on 25 Dec 2020. 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

DCTStream::getChars in DCTStream.cc in Poppler 20.12.1 has a heap-based buffer overflow via a crafted PDF document. NOTE: later reports indicate that this only affects builds from Poppler git clones in late December 2020, not the 20.12.1 release. In this situation, it should NOT be considered a Poppler vulnerability. However, several third-party Open Source projects directly rely on Poppler git clones made at arbitrary times, and therefore the CVE remains useful to users of those projects

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-35702?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Freedesktop Poppler.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-35702?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-35702 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-35702 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-35702 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-2020-35702 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-35702 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Freedesktop Poppler, published on 25 Dec 2020. 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-2020-35702 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-2020-35702/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-35702/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-35702
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-35702
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-35702

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-35702/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.