mozilla/pdf.js · error · FormatError

WhitePoint missing - required for color space CalRGB

Error message

WhitePoint missing - required for color space CalRGB

What it means

Thrown by the CalRGBCS constructor when the /WhitePoint array is missing or falsy for a /CalRGB color space. As with CalGray, WhitePoint is mandatory per spec and pdf.js will not guess a default for it.

Source

Thrown at src/core/colorspace.js:942

    3.2404542, -1.5371385, -0.4985314,
    -0.9692660, 1.8760108, 0.0415560,
    0.0556434, -0.2040259, 1.0572252]);

  static #FLAT_WHITEPOINT_MATRIX = new Float32Array([1, 1, 1]);

  static #tempNormalizeMatrix = new Float32Array(3);

  static #tempConvertMatrix1 = new Float32Array(3);

  static #tempConvertMatrix2 = new Float32Array(3);

  static #DECODE_L_CONSTANT = ((8 + 16) / 116) ** 3 / 8.0;

  constructor(whitePoint, blackPoint, gamma, matrix) {
    super("CalRGB", 3);

    if (!whitePoint) {
      throw new FormatError(
        "WhitePoint missing - required for color space CalRGB"
      );
    }
    // Translate arguments to spec variables.
    const [XW, YW, ZW] = (this.whitePoint = whitePoint);
    const [XB, YB, ZB] = (this.blackPoint = blackPoint || new Float32Array(3));

    [this.GR, this.GG, this.GB] = gamma || new Float32Array([1, 1, 1]);
    [
      this.MXA,
      this.MYA,
      this.MZA,
      this.MXB,
      this.MYB,
      this.MZB,
      this.MXC,
      this.MYC,
      this.MZC,

View on GitHub (pinned to 5903d58d58)

Solutions

Repair the PDF to include a valid /WhitePoint array (Y normalized to 1).
Update pdf.js.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Type guard

function hasWhitePoint(csDict) {
  const wp = csDict.get('WhitePoint');
  return Array.isArray(wp) && wp.length === 3;
}

Try / catch

try {
  cs = ColorSpace.parse(res, xref, cs, pdfFunctionFactory);
} catch (e) {
  if (e instanceof FormatError && /WhitePoint missing.*CalRGB/.test(e.message)) {
    console.warn('CalRGB missing WhitePoint, falling back', e);
    cs = null;
  } else throw e;
}

Prevention

When generating /CalRGB color spaces, always include /WhitePoint.
Validate untrusted PDFs before rendering.
Keep pdf.js updated.
Fall back to DeviceRGB when CalRGB construction fails.

When it happens

Trigger: Constructing CalRGBCS with whitePoint = null/undefined/[], or parsing a PDF /CalRGB dictionary lacking /WhitePoint.

Common situations: Corrupt PDF with an incomplete CalRGB dictionary; a faulty PDF writer that omitted the calibration white point.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of mozilla/pdf.js@5903d58d58 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8624262d0a23d04e. Report an issue: GitHub.