Damaged PDF File
Download a free damaged PDF file with corrupted internal structures. The file has a valid PDF header (%PDF-1.7) but contains a damaged cross-reference table, missing page objects, and truncated stream data. Use it to test PDF viewer error handling, PDF repair tools, and document processing pipeline resilience.
What Is Broken
The PDF header and some initial objects are valid, but the cross-reference (xref) table contains incorrect byte offsets, some indirect objects are missing, and one content stream is truncated mid-data. The trailer dictionary points to a non-existent root object.
Why It Matters
Damaged PDFs occur from incomplete downloads, email attachment corruption, and storage failures. PDF viewers and processing libraries need to handle them gracefully — showing what they can and reporting what they cannot render.
Expected Parser / Validator Behavior
PDF viewers should attempt to repair the xref table and display recoverable pages. Libraries like pdf.js, PDFium, and Poppler should report specific errors for missing objects. Applications should not crash on damaged input.
Related Invalid Files
Related Validators & Tools
Valid Sample Files
Frequently Asked Questions
What part of the PDF is damaged?
The cross-reference table has wrong offsets, some page objects are missing, and a content stream is truncated. The header and some early objects are valid.
Can this PDF be repaired?
Some tools (like qpdf --check, mutool clean, or Acrobat's built-in repair) can reconstruct the xref table and recover some content.