# CVE-2024-42358: Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop') in pdfio

> Attackers can cause denial of service via infinite loops and memory exhaustion by uploading malicious TTF files to applications using the pdfio library.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2024-42358, GHSA-4hh9-j68x-8353, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-42358

## What is CVE-2024-42358?

CVE-2024-42358 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in michaelrsweet pdfio, published on 6 Aug 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

PDFio is a simple C library for reading and writing PDF files. There is a denial of service (DOS) vulnerability in the TTF parser. Maliciously crafted TTF files can cause the program to utilize 100% of the Memory and enter an infinite loop. This can also lead to a heap-buffer-overflow vulnerability. An infinite loop occurs in the read_camp function by nGroups value. The ttf.h library is vulnerable. A value called nGroups is extracted from the file, and by changing that value, you can cause the program to utilize 100% of the Memory and enter an infinite loop. If the value of nGroups in the file is small, an infinite loop will not occur. This library, whether used as a standalone binary or as part of another application, is vulnerable to DOS attacks when parsing certain types of files. Automated systems, including web servers that use this code to convert PDF submissions into plaintext, can be DOSed if an attacker uploads a malicious TTF file. This issue has been addressed in release version 1.3.1. All users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-835 (Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-42358?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Msweet Pdfio.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-42358?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2024-42358 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2024-42358 exists.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-42358 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-42358 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in michaelrsweet pdfio, published on 6 Aug 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2024-42358 exists.

Affected product: michaelrsweet pdfio. 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-2024-42358/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42358/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-42358
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-42358
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-42358

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-42358/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.