CVE-2025-55197: Pypdf PyPDF's Manipulated FlateDecode Streams Can Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-7hfw-26vp-jp8m
Share
CWE-400 CWE-770
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-55197 is a MODERATE pypdf's manipulated flatedecode streams can vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting Pypdf libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves pypdf's manipulated flatedecode streams can exhaust ram. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 6.0.0.

CVE-2025-55197 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-55197
GHSA Identifier GHSA-7hfw-26vp-jp8m
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product Pypdf
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2025-55197

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Pypdf dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

pypdf fixed: 6.0.0 
pip install pypdf>=6.0.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show pypdf

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2025-55197, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show pypdf

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Pypdf in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 6.0.0), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show pypdf command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In Pypdf, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact An attacker who uses this vulnerability can craft a PDF which leads to the RAM being exhausted. This requires just reading the file if a series of FlateDecode filters is used on a malicious cross-reference stream. Other content streams are affected on explicit access. ### Patches This has been fixed in [pypdf==6.0.0](https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/releases/tag/6.0.0). ### Workarounds If you cannot upgrade yet, you might want to implement the workaround for `pypdf.filters.decompress` yourself: https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/blob/0dd57738bbdcdb63f0fb43d8a6b3d222b6946595/pypdf/filters.py#L72-L143 ### References This issue has been reported in #3429 and fixed in #3430.

CVE-2025-55197 Affected Pypdf Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
6.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
pypdf
pypi/pypdf
PyPI
< 6.0.0
6.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2025-55197 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-55197
Pypdf Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/issues/3429
Pypdf Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/pull/3430
Pypdf Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf
Pypdf Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/blob/0dd57738bbdcdb63f0fb43d8a6b3d222b6946595/pypdf/filters.py#L72-L143
Pypdf Release RELEASE
https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/releases/tag/6.0.0
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/security/advisories/GHSA-7hfw-26vp-jp8m

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-55197?
CVE-2025-55197 is a security vulnerability in Pypdf involving PyPDF's Manipulated FlateDecode streams can exhaust RAM under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which Pypdf versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 6.0.0 across affected packages: pypdf.
What version fixes CVE-2025-55197?
Upgrading to 6.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is pypdf affected?
Yes, pypdf is affected in releases prior to 6.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 6.0.0 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-55197?
CVE-2025-55197 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2025-55197?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show pypdf'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-7hfw-26vp-jp8m",
  "modified" : "2025-08-14T13:31:08Z",
  "published" : "2025-08-13T19:51:24Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-55197" ],
  "summary" : "PyPDF's Manipulated FlateDecode streams can exhaust RAM",
  "details" : "### Impact\nAn attacker who uses this vulnerability can craft a PDF which leads to the RAM being exhausted. This requires just reading the file if a series of FlateDecode filters is used on a malicious cross-reference stream. Other content streams are affected on explicit access.\n\n### Patches\nThis has been fixed in [pypdf==6.0.0](https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/releases/tag/6.0.0).\n\n### Workarounds\nIf you cannot upgrade yet, you might want to implement the workaround for `pypdf.filters.decompress` yourself: https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/blob/0dd57738bbdcdb63f0fb43d8a6b3d222b6946595/pypdf/filters.py#L72-L143\n\n### References\nThis issue has been reported in #3429 and fixed in #3430.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "pypdf"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "6.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/security/advisories/GHSA-7hfw-26vp-jp8m"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-55197"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/issues/3429"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/pull/3430"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/blob/0dd57738bbdcdb63f0fb43d8a6b3d222b6946595/pypdf/filters.py#L72-L143"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/py-pdf/pypdf/releases/tag/6.0.0"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400", "CWE-770" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-08-13T19:51:24Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-08-13T23:15:27Z"
  }
}