IT Security Stack Exchange
IT Security Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [pdf]

Portable Document Format (PDF) is an open standard for electronic document exchange maintained by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Questions can be about PDF specific malware or protections.

179 questions
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4 answers

Detecting and preventing 'phone home' behavior in PDF files

I have received several PDF documents via email from someone I do not trust. I need to read the documents and respond to them. They are not encrypted. I want to make sure the documents are completely safe. I scanned them with multiple antivirus…
Tim
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21
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2 answers

How to know if a PDF file is infected?

I'm afraid to open a PDF book. When checking the file via pdfid, I get this: PDF Header:% PDF-1.6 obj 4175 endobj 4174 stream 3379 endstream 3379 xref 0 trailer 0 startxref 1 / Page 794 / Encrypt 0 / ObjStm 6 / JS 3 …
stackflow
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9
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2 answers

How secure a secured PDF really is?

I've googled the internet for answers regarding secured pdf/cracking them and found huge amount of stuff. But most of it is quite old. So could someone confirm the following is still valid in modern days. pdf can have two password: the master one…
user1909791
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8
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1 answer

Security of PDF reader software

Are there any studies regarding the security of PDF viewer software from different vendors? I try to find the most secure reader.
Jadibon
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4
votes
2 answers

Removing malware from a malicious PDF file

I have analyzed a large PDF using Didier Steven's pdfid tool. I get the following result: Now that I know there is malicious content in the PDF, what can I do to remove it? I would still like to view the contents of the PDF. Unfortunately, I am not…
Mike
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3
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1 answer

How can I detect and reject potentially unsafe pdf uploads

We develop a web app that will start accepting pdf uploads, which will be stored and distributed to other users. Pdfs seem remarkably unsafe still. How can I scan and reject any pdf that does anything beyond representing a printable document? No…
bbsimonbb
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1
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1 answer

Strange virustotal tags on pdf file

I've received PDF at work, which I then ran through virustotal scan out of habit. It turned out to be clean, but at the same time some tags caught my attention,…
Fraymonix
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1
vote
1 answer

pdfid analyzing / disarming documents causing infection?

If you analyze or disarm a potential unsafe pdf file using pdfid , will it infect the machine while doing it? Is it the same with peepdf?
user3200534
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1
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3 answers

Reading potentially hidden properties of a PDF file

I have a PDF file which, when going via "Properties", shows no data. For example, no mention of the author of the file. Is there any way I can unlock such information?
cel
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1
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1 answer

What's a file format that is user-friendly and text-friendly but _largely_ non-editable?

Recently, I'm coming across more and more places that use PDF files as a non-editable format to ensure that the data in it is not altered in any form. (Whether that is a good idea or not is another question altogether -- the general public…
Alex Koay
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1
vote
1 answer

Excel vs PDF protection

A recent requirement been received to automatically email Excel documents to customers. The customer would then amend the Excel file and send it back. The current options are to password protect the excel document using unique customer data as the…
TheBritishTwit
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1
vote
0 answers

How to open PDFs securely?

I'm new in Linux and information security. I wonder how I can "isolate" a PDF file in order to read it securely. How can I mitigate potentional risks and open a PDF in a "secure way"? I would like to do so on a Linux Debian machine
jhon
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0
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0 answers

How do i convert a PDF sent through a secure link (proofpoint) so that it can be printed and edited?

On Lenovo laptop. Pdf is from my workplace secure sight. I want to print the pdf. I can't open Acrobat even though it is on my computer. Can I get some help on how to print? Do I need to download it first? How?
Joan Utley
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1 answer

Is there a safe alternative to PDF?

As PDF may contain malicious code, is there any easy to use file format providing the same features ? If not, could you share recommendations to limit the attack surface for average users ? (exclude Qubes, sandboxes, scans, ...)
Sumak
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0
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1 answer

Is converting malicious PDF to JPG then backwards via web services is good method to obtain safe PDF?

I've downloaded a book but by default its considered malicious by me. I thought of converting that PDF to JPG here: https://smallpdf.com/pl/pdf-do-jpg Then backwards: https://smallpdf.com/pl/jpg-to-pdf Is converting PDF to JPG then backwards via web…
noone
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