{
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "id": "GHSA-jrmc-qg6p-94fp",
  "modified": "2026-07-29T15:17:32Z",
  "published": "2026-07-29T15:17:32Z",
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-54080"
  ],
  "summary": "veraPDF Parser DoS via PostScript CMap Streams",
  "details": "## Summary\n\n**Description**\n\nA PostScript-interpreter-driven Denial of Service (CWE-1325) vulnerability in veraPDF allows a remote attacker to exhaust validator memory or CPU by submitting a PDF whose Type 0 font `/Encoding` (or any `/ToUnicode`) is a CMap stream containing attacker-supplied PostScript. veraPDF reuses its CMap parser as a general PostScript interpreter and exposes the unguarded `array N` allocation operator and the `for` control operator with no zero-increment guard. This affects all current versions of veraPDF-parser.\n\n## Details\n\nThe vulnerability resides in veraPDF-parser. CMap streams referenced as a Type 0 font's `/Encoding` (or any font's `/ToUnicode`) are parsed by `CMapParser` (veraPDF-parser/src/main/java/org/verapdf/pd/font/cmap/CMapParser.java), which extends `PSParser`. Tokens that are not the small CMap-specific keyword set (`begincodespacerange`, `bfchar`, `cidchar`, ...) fall through to `PSObject.execute` (veraPDF-parser/src/main/java/org/verapdf/parser/postscript/PSObject.java), which dispatches generic PostScript operators implemented in `PSOperator` (veraPDF-parser/src/main/java/org/verapdf/parser/postscript/PSOperator.java).\n\nTwo operators in that interpreter take their bound from the PDF and apply no validation:\n1. `array` at PSOperator.java:536-547 pops the top number from the operand stack and immediately calls `COSArray.construct(arraySize)`, then loops `arraySize` times appending `COSObject.getEmpty()`. `COSArray.construct(int)` calls `new ArrayList<>(arraySize)` (COSArray.java:102), so the underlying `Object[]` is allocated up-front. Passing `2147483647` (`Integer.MAX_VALUE`) requests a 16 GB backing array on a 64-bit JVM.\n2. `for` at PSOperator.java:571-592 reads `initial`, `increment`, and `limit` from the stack and loops `for (long i = initial; i <= limit; i += increment)`. Because `increment` is unchecked, `0 0 1 { } for` produces an infinite-CPU spin (and progressively a heap exhaustion as each iteration pushes `i` onto the operand stack).\n\n`CMapFactory.getCMap` only catches `IOException` and `PostScriptException`; it does not catch `OutOfMemoryError` or wall-clock budget, so the failure propagates out of font model construction and aborts the validation worker.\n\nA single payload byte sequence, the unframed PostScript `2147483647 array`, is sufficient. No `begincmap`/`endcmap` framing is required because the operator runs before the parser ever reaches the CMap structure.\n\n## Impact\n\nThis impacts all current releases of the veraPDF-parser. Successful exploitation requires only that the target validate an attacker-supplied PDF; a single Type 0 font with a malicious `/Encoding` (or any `/ToUnicode`) stream is sufficient.\n\n## Proposed Patch\n\nCap `array` allocation and forbid zero increments in `for`.\n\nAs a defensive measure, also wrap `CMapFactory.getCMap` to enforce a wall-clock and operand-stack-size budget on CMap parsing, and audit the remaining unbounded operators (`copy`, `roll`, `dict`) for similar primitives.",
  "severity": [
    {
      "type": "CVSS_V4",
      "score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
    }
  ],
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Maven",
        "name": "org.verapdf:parser"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1.30.2"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "database_specific": {
        "last_known_affected_version_range": "<= 1.30.1"
      }
    },
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "Maven",
        "name": "org.verapdf:parser"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM",
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "1.31.1"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1.31.23"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "database_specific": {
        "last_known_affected_version_range": "<= 1.31.22"
      }
    }
  ],
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/veraPDF/veraPDF-parser/security/advisories/GHSA-jrmc-qg6p-94fp"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/veraPDF/veraPDF-parser/pull/703"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/veraPDF/veraPDF-parser/commit/73d6ec002b98ce1f3f68640442f8e5d5613c80ce"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/veraPDF/veraPDF-parser/commit/cb3538607a549d63504299be1088c85ae48605f4"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/veraPDF/veraPDF-parser"
    }
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-1325"
    ],
    "severity": "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-07-29T15:17:32Z",
    "nvd_published_at": null
  }
}