---
id: CVE-2026-114610
title: >-
  fpdf2: Exponential SVG '<use>' expansion causes CPU and memory exhaustion in
  'FPDF.image()'
summary: >-
  fpdf2 is a PDF creation library for Python. From 2.5.0 until 2.8.8, fpdf2's
  SVGObject.build_xref() passes nested SVG <use> references to
  GraphicsContext.add_item(), whose default clone=True deep-copy behavior copies
  the complete referenc…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-400
  - CWE-770
vendor: py-pdf
product: fpdf2
affected:
  - 'fpdf2 >= 2.5.0, < 2.8.8'
published: '2026-10-22'
updated: '2026-10-22'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-22T17:21:11.788Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-114610'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/security/advisories/GHSA-wqw6-wpr3-45rh'
    label: 'https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/security/advisories/GHSA-wqw6-wpr3-45rh'
  - url: 'https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/pull/1889'
    label: 'https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/pull/1889'
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/commit/d7bd1061205d50da6a541dadfdb9d66beb763f2f
    label: >-
      https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/commit/d7bd1061205d50da6a541dadfdb9d66beb763f2f
  - url: 'https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/releases/tag/2.8.8'
    label: 'https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/releases/tag/2.8.8'
tags:
  - cve.org
ingestedAt: '2026-10-22T22:00:50.351Z'
---

## Overview

fpdf2 is a PDF creation library for Python. From 2.5.0 until 2.8.8, fpdf2's SVGObject.build_xref() passes nested SVG <use> references to GraphicsContext.add_item(), whose default clone=True deep-copy behavior copies the complete referenced graphics tree during FPDF.image() processing. Repeating references at each nesting level makes the in-memory object count and processing work grow exponentially, allowing a small user-controlled SVG to consume excessive CPU and memory, raise MemoryError, fail PDF generation jobs, and reduce or exhaust worker capacity. ResourceAccessPolicy does not prevent the issue because the references are inline and require no external resource, XML entity, local file, or permissive network setting. This issue is fixed in version 2.8.8.

## Affected

- `fpdf2 >= 2.5.0, < 2.8.8`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.