# CVE-2025-46206: Artifex MuPDF denial of service in mutool clean utility

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2025-46206-artifex-mupdf-denial-of-service-in-mutool-clean-utility  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2025-08-04. Updated: 2026-07-05  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2025-46206 · Severity: medium · CVSS 6.5 · Published 2025-08-04

Artifex MuPDF is a widely used library for viewing and managing PDF documents. A vulnerability in its document cleaning utility allows a remote attacker to crash the application by providing a specially crafted PDF file. This results in a denial of service, potentially disrupting business operations that rely on automated PDF processing or document viewing.

Technologies: [Artifex Mupdf](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/mupdf). Vendors: [Artifex](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/artifex).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2025-46206 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2025-46206 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2025-46206?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.5, published 4 August 2025.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Artifex MuPDF 1.25.5, 1.25.6.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2025-46206?** A patch was published on 2025-05-12: Fix committed to MuPDF master branch Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2025-46206 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2025-46206?** Check whether you run Artifex Mupdf. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

A denial of service vulnerability exists in Artifex MuPDF versions 1.25.5 and 1.25.6 due to uncontrolled recursion (CWE-674). The issue resides in the `strip_outline()` and `strip_outlines()` functions within `pdf-clean-file.c`. When the `mutool clean` utility processes a PDF containing cyclic `/Next` references in its outline structure, the program enters an infinite recursive loop until the stack is exhausted. An attacker can exploit this by providing a malicious PDF to a user or service that utilizes the `mutool` utility. A fix has been committed to the MuPDF repository to detect and prevent these cycles.

## Affected products

- Artifex MuPDF 1.25.5, 1.25.6

## Timeline

- 2025-05-10: disclosed: Bug reported to Ghostscript Bugzilla
- 2025-05-12: patched: Fix committed to MuPDF master branch
- 2025-08-04: advisory: CVE published to NVD

## References

- [http://mupdf.com/](http://mupdf.com/)
- [https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=708521](https://bugs.ghostscript.com/show_bug.cgi?id=708521)
- [https://cgit.ghostscript.com/cgi-bin/cgit.cgi/mupdf.git/commit/?id=0ec7e4d2201bb6df217e01c17396d36297abf9ac](https://cgit.ghostscript.com/cgi-bin/cgit.cgi/mupdf.git/commit/?id=0ec7e4d2201bb6df217e01c17396d36297abf9ac)
- [https://github.com/Landw-hub/CVE-2025-46206](https://github.com/Landw-hub/CVE-2025-46206)

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