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OpenAdvisories
Low · 2.7 CVE-2026-22691 EUVD-2026-1691GHSA-4f6g-68pf-7vhvPYSEC-2026-1828

pypdf has possible long runtimes for malformed startxref

Published Jan 10, 2026 · Updated Jan 12, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M

Description

pypdf is a free and open-source pure-python PDF library. Prior to version 6.6.0, pypdf has possible long runtimes for malformed startxref. An attacker who uses this vulnerability can craft a PDF which leads to possibly long runtimes for invalid startxref entries. When rebuilding the cross-reference table, PDF files with lots of whitespace characters become problematic. Only the non-strict reading mode is affected. Only the non-strict reading mode is affected. This issue has been patched in version 6.6.0.

Affected products

VendorProductAffectedFixed
py-pdf pypdf < 6.6.0 —

Fixed in Linux distributions

Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.

ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Debian 14 pypdf 6.9.0-1 —
Debian 13 pypdf No fix yet —
Debian 12 pypdf +1 No fix yet —
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 26.10 pypdf No fix yet —
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS pypdf No fix yet —
Ubuntu 25.10 pypdf No fix yet —
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS pypdf +1 No fix yet —
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS pypdf2 No fix yet —
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)
ReleasePackageFixed inAdvisory
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS pypdf2 No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS pypdf2 No fix yet —
Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS pypdf2 No fix yet —

Affected packages

EcosystemPackageAffectedFixedRecord
PyPI pypdf < 6.6.0 6.6.0 GHSA-4f6g-68pf-7vhv

Advisories 1

References