Why does Stack Overflow scan your resume for viruses?

[chrisstpierre]

I just uploaded my resume to Stack Overflow, and it shows "scanning for viruses". Is it really necessary to scan a pdf for viruses?

[suramya_tomar]

Yes, because there are ways to trigger a malware install or Viruses using a PDF files.

Example:

* https://www.welivesecurity.com/2018/05/15/tale-two-zero-days... (a remote-code execution vulnerability in Adobe Reader and a privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft Windows triggered via PDF)

* https://blogs.quickheal.com/beware-pdf-attachments-launching... (PDF's launching Android Malware)

* https://www.sans.org/security-resources/malwarefaq/pdf-overv... (A slightly dated FAQ on PDF Malware)

[LiamPa]

Any file uploaded should be scanned especially when you are uploading something which is then downloadable by someone else such as this example.

[detaro]

PDFs have been a major malware vector.