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CVE-2026-33929 Apache PDFBox

Affected softwareApache PDFBox
Severity4.3 Medium CVSS 3.1
Fixed in2.0.37, 3.0.8
WeaknessPath traversal (CWE-22)
Published14 Apr 2026
Updated26 Oct 2026

Description

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Apache PDFBox Examples. This issue affects the ExtractEmbeddedFiles example in Apache PDFBox: from 2.0.24 through 2.0.36, from 3.0.0 through 3.0.7. Users are recommended to update to version 2.0.37 or 3.0.8 once available. Until then, they should apply the fix provided in GitHub PR 427. The ExtractEmbeddedFiles example contained a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) mentioned in CVE-2026-23907. However the change in the releases 2.0.36 and 3.0.7 is flawed because it doesn't consider the file path separator. Because of that, a user having writing rights on /home/ABC could be victim to a malicious PDF resulting in a write attempt to any path starting with /home/ABC, e.g. "/home/ABCDEF". Users who have copied this example into their production code should apply the mentioned change. The example has been changed accordingly and is available in the project repository.

Exploitation status

No public exploit

No exploit has been reported in the sources we check.

  • CISA KEV not listed
  • VulnCheck KEV not listed
  • CISA Vulnrichment exploitation: none
  • Indexed PoC none indexed
  • EPSS 0.72% chance in 30 days

Waratek protection

Protected by Waratek

Waratek has a rule that blocks attacks on this vulnerability.

Decided by A vulnerability class already blocked by an ARMR security rule
Finding Protected by Waratek's ARMR path-traversal security rule, which blocks this class of attack at the JVM level without a rule written for this CVE specifically. The CVE's weakness is CWE-22: Path Traversal.
Candidate fix https://github.com/apache/pdfbox/pull/427/changes : a pull request: the change under review

How to mitigate CVE-2026-33929

Upgrade Apache PDFBox to a release that fixes it: 2.0.37 or 3.0.8. Until you can, Waratek RASP blocks exploitation with its path traversal rule. It runs inside the Java application, with no code changes.

Waratek RASP Runtime protection for Java applications

Affected software and releases

Oracle advisories

AdvisoryTypeQuarterProducts Oracle names in its risk matrix
Oracle Critical Security Patch Update August 2026 ↗ CSPU 2026-Q3 Oracle Financial Services Applications / Web UI (Apache PDFBox) (8.0.8.2, 8.1.2.11)

Oracle components and versions

FamilyComponentVersions, as Oracle lists themRead as
Oracle Financial Services Applications Web UI (Apache PDFBox) 8.0.8.2, 8.1.2.11 8.0.8.2 · 8.1.2.11

Maven packages

Affected and fixed versions, from OSV.dev
PackageIntroducedFixedLast affected
org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox-examples 2.0.24 2.0.37 unbounded
org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox-examples 3.0.0 3.0.8 unbounded

Products and versions

2 products, 4 version entries
SourceVendorProductSchemeAffected versions
nvd apache pdfbox generic ≥ 2.0.24 and < 2.0.37 · ≥ 3.0.0 and < 3.0.8
osv org.apache.pdfbox pdfbox-examples generic ≥ 2.0.24 and < 2.0.37 · ≥ 3.0.0 and < 3.0.8

References

URLTags
https://github.com/apache/pdfbox/pull/427/changes pr
https://github.com/apache/pdfbox PACKAGE
https://lists.apache.org/thread/j8l07tgzy9dm8d8n0f3c45h7zg7t3ld6 WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread/op3lyx1ngzy4qycn06l6hljyf28ff0zs WEB

Timeline

Published2026-04-14By the CVE Program.
NVD record modified2026-10-26NVD's own last-modified date for this record.