CVE-2026-40505
MuPDF mutool ANSI Injection via Metadata
Description
MuPDF mutool does not sanitize PDF metadata fields before writing them to terminal output, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary ANSI escape sequences through crafted PDF metadata. Attackers can embed malicious ANSI escape codes in PDF metadata that are passed unsanitized to the terminal when running mutool info, enabling them to clear the terminal display and render arbitrary text for social engineering attacks such as presenting fake prompts or spoofed commands.
INFO
Published Date :
April 16, 2026, 2:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
April 16, 2026, 2:16 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-40505
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | LOW | 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10 | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | LOW | [email protected] | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | LOW | MITRE-CVE | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | MEDIUM | 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10 | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | MEDIUM | [email protected] |
Solution
- Update MuPDF to the latest version.
- Sanitize metadata before terminal output.
- Validate all user-supplied input.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-40505.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://cgit.ghostscript.com/cgi-bin/cgit.cgi/mupdf.git/commit/?id=0f17d789fe8c29b41e47663be82514aaca3a4dfb | |
| https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/mupdf-mutool-ansi-injection-via-metadata |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-40505 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-40505
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-40505 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-40505 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Apr. 16, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description MuPDF mutool does not sanitize PDF metadata fields before writing them to terminal output, allowing attackers to inject arbitrary ANSI escape sequences through crafted PDF metadata. Attackers can embed malicious ANSI escape codes in PDF metadata that are passed unsanitized to the terminal when running mutool info, enabling them to clear the terminal display and render arbitrary text for social engineering attacks such as presenting fake prompts or spoofed commands. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N Added CWE CWE-150 Added Reference https://cgit.ghostscript.com/cgi-bin/cgit.cgi/mupdf.git/commit/?id=0f17d789fe8c29b41e47663be82514aaca3a4dfb Added Reference https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/mupdf-mutool-ansi-injection-via-metadata