CVE-2026-40505

MuPDF < 1.27 mutool ANSI Injection via Metadata

LOW
3.3
CVSS Score
Published: April 16, 2026 at 01:20 AM UTC
Updated: October 26, 2026 at 09:10 PM UTC
1 product affected across 1 vendorMuPDF

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Severity
LOW3.3
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.2%
SSVC
No known exploit

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.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 1.27.00f17d789fe8c29b41e47663be82514aaca3a4dfb
Affected range stops below 1.27.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

SSVC — Action Prioritization

SSVCNo known exploitNot automatablePartial impact

SSVC signals action urgency (what to patch first), separate from CVSS which measures severity.

CVSS

3.3LOWVulnCheck
Attack Vector
LOCAL
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
LOW
Availability
NONE
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusANALYZED
CWE
CWE-150

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