Apache PDFBox Examples: Path Traversal in PDFBox ExtractEmbeddedFiles Example Code
Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in Apache PDFBox Examples.
This issue affects the ExtractEmbeddedFiles example in Apache PDFBox: from 2.0.24 through 2.0.36, from 3.0.0 through 3.0.7.
Users are recommended to update to version 2.0.37 or 3.0.8 once available. Until then, they should apply the fix provided in GitHub PR 427.
The ExtractEmbeddedFiles example contained a path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) mentioned in CVE-2026-23907. However the change in the releases 2.0.36 and 3.0.7 is flawed because it doesn't consider the file path separator. Because of that, a user having writing rights on /home/ABC could be victim to a malicious PDF resulting in a write attempt to any path starting with /home/ABC, e.g. "/home/ABCDEF".
Users who have copied this example into their production code should apply the mentioned change. The example has been changed accordingly and is available in the project repository.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Java / Kotlin (Maven) | org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox-examples | >= 2.0.24, < 2.0.37, >= 3.0.0, < 3.0.8 | 2.0.37, 3.0.8 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-22- Platform
- Java / Kotlin (Maven)
- Package
org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox-examples- Disclosed
- 14.04.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 12:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-gcj8-76p4-g2fq - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: org.apache.pdfbox:pdfbox-examples
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Java / Kotlin (Maven)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 2
- First → latest
- 03.2026 04.2026
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Medium 2
Disclosures per year
- 2026: 2
-
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