Security Resilience

CVE-2023-3436

Xpdfreader Xpdf 4.04

Published
27 June 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3.1 3.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0017 6th percentile
Risk Priority 28 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-3436 is a low-severity Deadlock (CWE-833) vulnerability in Xpdfreader Xpdf. Its CVSS base score is 3.3 (Low).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked at the 6th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Xpdf 4.04 will deadlock on a PDF object stream whose "Length" field is itself in another object stream.

CWE(s)
CWE-833CWE-667

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.001 Junk Data Command And Control
Adversaries may add junk data to protocols used for command and control to make detection more difficult.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003 OS Credential Dumping Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login and credential material, normally in the form of a hash or a clear text password.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.
attack.mitre.org →
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
attack.mitre.org →
T1011 Exfiltration Over Other Network Medium Exfiltration
Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over a different network medium than the command and control channel.
attack.mitre.org →
T1014 Rootkit Stealth
Adversaries may use rootkits to hide the presence of programs, files, network connections, services, drivers, and other system components.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-3900Same product: Xpdfreader Xpdf
CVE-2024-7867Same product: Xpdfreader Xpdf
CVE-2024-4568Same product: Xpdfreader Xpdf
CVE-2024-3248Same product: Xpdfreader Xpdf
CVE-2024-2971Same product: Xpdfreader Xpdf
CVE-2023-3044Same product: Xpdfreader Xpdf
CVE-2024-7866Same product: Xpdfreader Xpdf
CVE-2023-2663Same product: Xpdfreader Xpdf
CVE-2023-2662Same product: Xpdfreader Xpdf
CVE-2024-7868Same product: Xpdfreader Xpdf

Affected Assets

xpdfreader
xpdf
4.04

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V15.4.3

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

PL-6 Security-related Activity Planning
addresses: CWE-833

Advance scheduling and deconfliction of security tasks lowers the chance that overlapping operations will produce deadlock conditions on shared resources.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices can include concurrency analysis and lock discipline to avoid deadlock conditions.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
blocks

A.8.25 mandates a secure SDLC process with checkpoints, secure coding, testing and training; none of those steps stop an existing deadlock from being exploitable, they only aim to reduce the chance one is introduced

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
removes
A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
blocks

A.8.27 mandates establishing and applying secure engineering principles (defense-in-depth, least privilege, fail securely, security by design, etc.) and performing design reviews; deadlock is a runtime concurrency flaw in implementation or threading logic that these principles and reviews do not stop from being introduced or exploited.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards mandate safe lock ordering, timeouts, and deadlock detection patterns.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance partial match
finds

Security testing in development can detect deadlock conditions through stress and concurrency testing.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
blocks

Change management may catch locking issues introduced by modifications but does not prevent the weakness itself.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-667, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.

References