CVE-2025-64512
Pdfminer.six is a community maintained fork of the original PDFMiner, a tool for extracting information from PDF documents. Prior to version 20251107, pdfminer.six will execute arbitrary code from a malicious pickle file if provided with a malicious PDF file. The `CMapDB._load_data()` function in pdfminer.six uses `pickle.loads()` to deserialize pickle files. These pickle files are supposed to be part of the pdfminer.six distribution stored in the `cmap/` directory, but a malicious PDF can specify an alternative directory and filename as long as the filename ends in `.pickle.gz`. A malicious, zipped pickle file can then contain code which will automatically execute when the PDF is processed. Version 20251107 fixes the issue.
- CVSS
- 8.6Highscored by the publisher (CNA)
- Exploited in the wild
- Not knownUnvetted proof-of-concept code on GitHub; not in CISA KEV
- EPSS
- 0.33%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 73% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 10 Nov 2025analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Summary
Triage
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
| Product | Affected versions | Vendor says fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| pdfminer pdfminer.six | < 20251107Vendor says fixed in: not stated |
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
Products named in our analysis
- pdfminer:pdfminer.six
- debian:debian_linux
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? No. The attack needs local access to the machine, so a WAF is not on its path.
Also consider: allow-list classes · patch
Based on the attack vector (local or physical access). We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Not listed as of our last sync.
- Public exploit code
- Unvetted proof-of-concept code on GitHub: 10 GitHub proofs of concept
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation poc, automatable no, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 12 Nov 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
GitHub proofs of concept
- luigigubello/CVE-2025-64512-Polyglot-PoC8 stars
- matesz44/CVE-2025-645124 stars
- BardLaudian/CVE-2025-645121 stars
- joeack123/PoC-for-CVE-2025-645120 stars
and 6 more repositories
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 10 Nov 2025Published
- 12 Nov 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation poc2 days later
- 11 Dec 2025First proof-of-concept repository on GitHub (unvetted)28 days later
- 8 Jan 2026CVE record last updated29 days later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com308 days (about 10 months) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | LocalLocal access required (shell, logged-in user). | Local access required (shell, logged-in user). |
| Attack complexity | LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions. | Repeatable attack, no special conditions. |
| Privileges required | NoneThe attacker needs no prior access. | The attacker needs no prior access. |
| User interaction | RequiredA victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate. | A victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate. |
| Scope | ChangedImpact crosses a security boundary into other components. | Impact crosses a security boundary into other components. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | HighFull outage possible. | Full outage possible. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2025-64512 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2025-64512 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.33% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2025-64512?
CVE-2025-64512 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.6. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2025-64512?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2025-64512. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2025-64512 affect?
CVE-2025-64512 affects pdfminer:pdfminer.six, debian:debian_linux. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
5 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Other links (5)
- github.com /pdfminer/pdfminer.six/security/advisories/GHSA-wf5f-4jwr-ppcp
- github.com /pdfminer/pdfminer.six/commit/b808ee05dd7f0c8ea8ec34bdf394d40e63501086
- github.com /pdfminer/pdfminer.six/releases/tag/20251107
- lists.debian.org /debian-lts-announce/2025/11/msg00017.html
- lists.debian.org /debian-lts-announce/2026/01/msg00005.html
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
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