How severe is CVE-2016-4991?

CVE-2016-4991 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2016-4991 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (70th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2016-4991?

CVE-2016-4991 affects Nodepdf Project Nodepdf. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2016-4991?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2016-4991 published?

CVE-2016-4991 was published on 2022-07-28 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2016-4991

CVE-2016-4991 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Nodepdf Project Nodepdf with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-77.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (70th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-77
Affected product: Nodepdf Project Nodepdf
Published: 2022-07-28
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

Input passed to the Pdf() function is shell escaped and passed to child_process.exec() during PDF rendering. However, the shell escape does not properly encode all special characters, namely, semicolon and curly braces. This can be abused to achieve command execution. This problem affects nodepdf 1.3.0.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-4991?: Input passed to the Pdf() function is shell escaped and passed to child_process.exec() during PDF rendering. However, the shell escape does not properly encode all special characters, namely, semicolon and curly braces. This can be abused to achieve command execution. This problem affects nodepdf 1.3.0.
How severe is CVE-2016-4991?: CVE-2016-4991 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2016-4991 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (70th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2016-4991?: CVE-2016-4991 affects Nodepdf Project Nodepdf. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2016-4991?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2016-4991 published?: CVE-2016-4991 was published on 2022-07-28 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://lf.lc/cve/cve-2016-4991/

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:nodepdf_project:nodepdf:1.3.0:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:*

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