Add wkhtmltopdf installation support for Odoo PDF reports

[trisdoan]

Summary

Odoo PDF reports require wkhtmltopdf with patched Qt (custom Qt 4.8). Standard OS packages ship unpatched version, causing headers/footers to fail silently. Manual install is error-prone with undocumented dependencies. The project is archived with CVE-2022-35583.

Problem Details

• Odoo checks wkhtmltopdf --version for "(with patched qt)" string
• Standard apt install wkhtmltopdf installs unpatched version → broken reports

Version Matrix

• Odoo 10-15: wkhtmltopdf 0.12.5-1
• Odoo 16+: wkhtmltopdf 0.12.6.1-3

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Scenario 1: Local Development

Solution:

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Scenario 2: Production

Environment: Linux servers, Docker

Risks:

• CVE-2022-35583 exposure in unmaintained Qt 4.8
• wkhtmltopdf runs in Odoo process space (attack surface)
• Memory spikes during PDF generation affect Odoo stability
• No security updates (project archived Aug 2023)

Solution:
using kwkhtmltopdf:

• Pros: isolation: wkhtmltopdf runs in separate Docker container
• Cons: needs docker, HTTP overhead (~50-100ms per PDF)

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References

• wkhtmltopdf archived (read-only since Aug 2023)
• Odoo issue #86501 - Replace wkhtmltopdf (open since Mar 2022)
• kwkhtmltopdf - Client-server isolation solution
• Odoo wkhtmltopdf wiki