Is CVE-2021-36978 actively exploited?

CVE-2021-36978 has no public evidence of in-the-wild exploitation as of 2024-11-21.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2021-36978?

CVE-2021-36978 has a CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM severity). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

How do I patch CVE-2021-36978?

Patch guidance is available from qpdf project security advisories. CVEDatabase generates AI-assisted remediation guidance on demand for CVE-2021-36978.

Which products are affected by CVE-2021-36978?

2 products: qpdf project qpdf, qpdf project qpdf.

CVE-2021-36978 - remediation guidance & executive summary

Description

QPDF 9.x through 9.1.1 and 10.x through 10.0.4 has a heap-based buffer overflow in Pl_ASCII85Decoder::write (called from Pl_AES_PDF::flush and Pl_AES_PDF::finish) when a certain downstream write fails.

CVSS Metrics

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Attack Vector: local
Complexity: low
Privileges: none
User Action: required
Scope: unchanged
Confidentiality: none
Integrity: none
Availability: high
Weaknesses: CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds Write

Metadata

Primary Vendor: QPDF_PROJECT
Published: 7/20/2021
Last Modified: 11/21/2024
Source: NIST NVD
Note: Verify all details with official vendor sources before applying patches.

Affected Products

qpdf_project : qpdfqpdf_project : qpdf

Remediation Guidance

Executive Summary

Cite this page

CVE-2021-36978. CVEDatabase.com. Retrieved 1 May 2026. https://cvedatabase.com/cve/CVE-2021-36978

View on NIST NVD

CVE-2021-36978 vulnerability