pdfrip
PDFRip is a multi-threaded command-line tool written in Rust for cracking password-protected PDF documents using wordlist, brute-force, and structured pattern attacks. It supports checkpoint/resume, JSON output, and optimized password verification through a prepared-verifier architecture.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | mufeedvh/pdfrip |
| Owner | mufeedvh |
| Primary language | Rust |
| License | MIT — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 1.4k |
| Forks | 143 |
| Open issues | 16 |
| Latest release | v3.0.0 (2026-03-18) |
| Last updated | 2026-03-26 |
| Source | https://github.com/mufeedvh/pdfrip |
What pdfrip is
PDFRip implements PDF Standard Security Handler password cracking across revisions R2–R6, using worker-local candidate buffers, contiguous range leasing for deterministic keyspaces, and a prepared-verifier hot path that avoids per-attempt PDF storage reloading. It supports user-password-only fast mode, custom query builders, mask-based brute-force, date/number generators, and exact progress accounting with checkpoint serialization.
Get the pdfrip source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/mufeedvh/pdfrip.gitcd pdfrip# follow the project's README for install & configurationNeed it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.
Best use cases
Implementation considerations
- Install Rust/Cargo and build from source or download pre-built binaries from releases; no external C dependencies required on macOS/Windows, but Linux requires a C linker.
- Tune `--threads` and `--batch-size` for your hardware; R5/R6 workloads are KDF-bound and benefit from parallelization, while R3/R4 may show diminishing returns.
- Use `--user-password-only` for R5/R6 documents if you only need to open the file and want ~15x faster verification; this skips owner-password checks.
- Prepare wordlists or define password patterns (custom-query, mask, date, range) before execution; checkpoint files are JSON-serialized and can be inspected or manually edited.
- Monitor progress via stdout (exact verified attempts) or parse `--json` output for automation; blank passwords are explicitly rendered as `""` to distinguish from missing data.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Unauthorized Access Intent — Do not use PDFRip to access documents without authorization or legal right. Password cracking tools enable both legitimate and illegal use; ensure authorization and compliance with applicable law.
- Certificate-Encrypted PDFs — PDFRip targets only password-based PDF encryption (Standard Security Handler). Certificate/public-key encrypted PDFs are explicitly out of scope.
- Owner-Permission-Only Workflows — PDFRip focuses on document-opening passwords that gate access. Permissions-password workflows are not a separate cracking mode; owner-password-only scenarios may require alternative approaches.
- GUI or Web-Based Requirements — PDFRip is CLI-only. If you need a graphical interface or cloud-based cracking service, this is not the right tool.
License & commercial use
MIT License. Permits commercial use, modification, and distribution with attribution and liability disclaimer. No copyleft obligations.
MIT is a permissive OSI license that explicitly allows commercial use. However, ensure your use case (password cracking on third-party PDFs) complies with applicable laws and policies. The license itself does not grant authorization to crack documents you do not own or have explicit legal right to access; that is a legal/ethical question separate from software licensing.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Strong |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Low |
| DEV.co fit | Good |
| Assessment confidence | High |
PDFRip is a password-cracking tool; its security posture depends on the user's intent and authorization. Considerations: (1) Ensure you have legal authorization to crack the target PDF before use; (2) PDFRip does not validate document ownership or consent; (3) Checkpoint files contain job state and should be stored securely if they reveal sensitive targeting information; (4) The tool does not implement rate-limiting or anti-forensic measures; (5) Password attempts are not logged by default, but consider your operating environment if auditing is required; (6) R5/R6 workloads are KDF-bound, making brute-force attacks computationally expensive—this is by design and reflects PDF spec security.
Alternatives to consider
qpdf
General-purpose PDF manipulation tool with limited cracking capability; better for understanding PDF structure than focused password recovery.
pdfcrack
Older C-based PDF password cracker; fewer attack modes, less active maintenance, less modern architecture than PDFRip.
Hashcat (PDF mode)
General-purpose hash cracker with PDF support; more flexibility for custom attacks but higher complexity and less PDF-specific optimization than PDFRip.
Build on pdfrip with DEV.co software developers
Evaluate PDFRip for authorized password recovery and penetration testing. Review the MIT license, confirm your use case complies with applicable law, and contact our team to integrate PDFRip into your security testing pipeline or custom development.
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pdfrip FAQ
Can PDFRip crack certificate-encrypted (public-key) PDFs?
How does checkpoint/resume work?
Is PDFRip legal to use?
How much faster is `--user-password-only` mode?
Custom software development services
DEV.co is a software development agency delivering custom software development services to companies building on open source. Our software developers and web developers design, integrate, and ship production systems — spanning web development, APIs, AI, data, and cloud. If pdfrip is part of your open-source security roadmap, our team can implement, customize, migrate, and maintain it.
Need to Recover or Test PDF Security?
Evaluate PDFRip for authorized password recovery and penetration testing. Review the MIT license, confirm your use case complies with applicable law, and contact our team to integrate PDFRip into your security testing pipeline or custom development.