[BUG] bug in Claude Code's PDF parser

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

I am asking Claude Code to read some pdf files. Each time I get an error saying that "PDF is password-protected. Please provide an unprotected version." Unfortunately, there is no security on the file. After running some bash command, Claude says "Good news — the file has no /Encrypt dictionary, so it's genuinely not password-protected. This appears to be a bug in Claude Code's PDF parser incorrectly flagging the file." (confirmed by command line search).

The same PDF file opens fine in Claude.ai (web)

I am using Windows 11 and I'm running Claude in visual studio.

What Should Happen?

Claude should be able to read the file easily.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

I simply ask Claude if it can read the file and it says "The PDF is password-protected, so I can't read it."

I have attached screenshots of the messages from Claude below.

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.68

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

<img width="795" height="889" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1d07821d-a4c3-4b3d-94c2-b80fde0768d8" />
<img width="809" height="817" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d7787678-1d91-44ac-af3c-48fb72016967" />