PdftronApplication

CVE-2022-24960

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
A use after free vulnerability was discovered in PDFTron SDK version 9.2.0. A crafted PDF can overwrite RIP with data previously allocated on the heap. This issue affects: PDFTron PDFTron SDK 9.2.0 on OSX; 9.2.0 on Linux; 9.2.0 on Windows.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A use-after-free vulnerability in PDFTron SDK 9.2.0 allows a specially crafted PDF to overwrite the instruction pointer (RIP) with data previously allocated on the heap, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability exists across all three major platforms (Windows, Linux, OSX).

MitigationUpdate PDFTron SDK to a version that includes a patch for this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict PDF input sources to trusted documents and monitor for exploitation attempts.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
PdftronApplication
Affected:= 9.2.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify PDFTron SDK installation
    Search for PDFTron SDK files, libraries, or components in common installation directories (e.g., /usr/local/pdftron, C:\Program Files\PDFTron, or check package managers)
    Affected if PDFTron SDK files or libraries are found on the system
  2. Determine installed PDFTron version
    Locate version information in SDK documentation, readme files, or library metadata (look for version strings in installed DLLs, .so files, or dylibs using strings command or file properties)
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 9.2.0
  3. Check for PDF processing functionality
    Review application code or configuration that uses PDFTron to process PDF files - identify if the PDF parsing or rendering features are actively used
    Affected if Applications or services process PDF documents using PDFTron SDK
  4. Assess PDF input trust level
    Determine whether the system accepts PDF files from untrusted or external sources (user uploads, email attachments, web downloads, network endpoints)
    Affected if The system processes PDF documents from untrusted or unknown sources
  5. Look for exploitation indicators
    Review application logs, crash dumps, or memory dumps for unusual behavior around PDF processing; check for unexpected DLL/so file modifications in PDFTron installation directories
    Affected if Unusual crash patterns, memory anomalies, or file modifications are observed after PDF processing

A user is affected if PDFTron SDK version 9.2.0 is installed and actively processes PDF documents, especially from untrusted sources.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update PDFTron SDK to a version that includes a patch for this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict PDF input sources to trusted documents and monitor for exploitation attempts.

Fix this in Pdftron Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-24960 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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