How severe is CVE-2019-9543?

CVE-2019-9543 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2019-9543 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (87th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2019-9543?

CVE-2019-9543 affects Freedesktop Poppler. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2019-9543?

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

When was CVE-2019-9543 published?

CVE-2019-9543 was published on 2019-03-01 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2019-9543

CVE-2019-9543 is a high-severity vulnerability in Freedesktop Poppler with a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8. 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-674.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 8.8)
CVSS v2: 6.8
EPSS exploit prediction: 3% (87th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-674
Affected product: Freedesktop Poppler
Published: 2019-03-01
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

An issue was discovered in Poppler 0.74.0. A recursive function call, in JBIG2Stream::readGenericBitmap() located in JBIG2Stream.cc, can be triggered by sending a crafted pdf file to (for example) the pdfseparate binary. It allows an attacker to cause Denial of Service (Segmentation fault) or possibly have unspecified other impact. This is related to JArithmeticDecoder::decodeBit.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2019-9543?: An issue was discovered in Poppler 0.74.0. A recursive function call, in JBIG2Stream::readGenericBitmap() located in JBIG2Stream.cc, can be triggered by sending a crafted pdf file to (for example) the pdfseparate binary. It allows an attacker to cause Denial of Service (Segmentation fault) or possibly have unspecified other impact. This is related to JArithmeticDecoder::decodeBit.
How severe is CVE-2019-9543?: CVE-2019-9543 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 8.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2019-9543 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (87th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2019-9543?: CVE-2019-9543 affects Freedesktop Poppler. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2019-9543?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2019-9543 published?: CVE-2019-9543 was published on 2019-03-01 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:freedesktop:poppler:0.74.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Freedesktop Poppler

CVE-2019-9631 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): Poppler 0.74.0 has a heap-based buffer over-read in the CairoRescaleBox.cc downsample_row_box_filter function.
CVE-2018-21009 — High (CVSS 8.8): Poppler before 0.66.0 has an integer overflow in Parser::makeStream in Parser.cc.
CVE-2019-12293 — High (CVSS 8.8): In Poppler through 0.76.1, there is a heap-based buffer over-read in JPXStream::init in JPEG2000Stream.cc via data with…
CVE-2019-10872 — High (CVSS 8.8): An issue was discovered in Poppler 0.74.0. There is a heap-based buffer over-read in the function…
CVE-2019-9545 — High (CVSS 8.8): An issue was discovered in Poppler 0.74.0. A recursive function call, in JBIG2Stream::readTextRegion() located in…
CVE-2019-9200 — High (CVSS 8.8): A heap-based buffer underwrite exists in ImageStream::getLine() located at Stream.cc in Poppler 0.74.0 that can (for…

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