CVE-2025-64512 — pdfminer.six vulnerable to Arbitrary Code Execution via Crafted PDF Input
Pdfminer.six is a community maintained fork of the original PDFMiner, a tool for extracting information from PDF documents. Prior to version 20251107, pdfminer.six will execute arbitrary code from a malicious pickle file if provided with a malicious PDF file. The `CMapDB._load_data()` function in pdfminer.six uses `pickle.loads()` to deserialize pickle files. These pickle files are supposed to be part of the pdfminer.six distribution stored in the `cmap/` directory, but a malicious PDF can specify an alternative directory and filename as long as the filename ends in `.pickle.gz`. A malicious, zipped pickle file can then contain code which will automatically execute when the PDF is processed. Version 20251107 fixes the issue.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- EPSS 0.3% (30-day exploitation probability)+4
- Technical severity (high)+6
- CISA SSVC: exploitation "poc"+5
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
- Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Debian Debian Linux, Pdfminer Pdfminer.six).
- Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
- Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (insecure deserialization), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | Debian Linux | version 11.0 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Pdfminer | Pdfminer.six | < 2025-11-07 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Pdfminer | Pdfminer.six | version < 20251107 | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.6 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 6.0 | security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 8.6 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.33%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Monitor serialized objects in requests and unexpected processes spawned by the runtime.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · pdfminer/pdfminer.six
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- Fix documented
- CVSS changed · 7.8
- Source status changed · → Modified
- Record created in this database
- 2025
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
5 on the record
- github.com/pdfminer/pdfminer.six/security/advisories/GHSA-wf5f-4jwr-ppcp
- github.com/pdfminer/pdfminer.six/commit/b808ee05dd7f0c8ea8ec34bdf394d40e63501086
- github.com/pdfminer/pdfminer.six/releases/tag/20251107
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2026/01/msg00005.html
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/11/msg00017.html
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- High CVE-2026-12996 A use-after-free in OpenVPN 2.6.0 through 2.6.20 and 2.7_alpha1 through 2.7.4 allows remote... Jul 30, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-14355 ext/openssl: Memory corruption in openssl_encrypt with AES-WRAP-PAD Jul 3, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-56968 Use of Uninitialized Resource in Gnu Sasl Jun 23, 2026
- High CVE-2026-49975 Apache HTTP Server: mod_http2 denial of service Jun 8, 2026
- High CVE-2026-9256 NGINX ngx_http_rewrite_module vulnerability May 22, 2026
- High CVE-2026-46333 ptrace: slightly saner 'get_dumpable()' logic May 15, 2026
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2025-64512 is "pdfminer.six vulnerable to Arbitrary Code Execution via Crafted PDF Input", rated High. It affects Debian Linux (Debian); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.33% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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