CVE-2022-37353
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 · uneditedThis vulnerability allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information on affected installations of PDF-XChange Editor. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of EMF files. Crafted data in an EMF file can trigger a read past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-17637.
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 · moderate confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in PDF-XChange Editor's EMF (Enhanced Metafile) file parser. A specially crafted EMF file containing malformed data triggers a read operation past the end of an allocated buffer, allowing disclosure of sensitive memory contents. While the primary impact is information disclosure, the vulnerability can be chained with other flaws to achieve arbitrary code execution in the current process context.
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= 9.3.361.0CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm PDF-XChange Editor is installedCheck the application in Add/Remove Programs (Windows) or locate the executable (PDFXCview.exe or PDFXEdit.exe) in Program Files. The application is typically installed in C:\Program Files\PDF-XChange\PDF-XChange Editor or similar.Affected if The application is present on the system.
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Identify the exact installed versionRight-click the PDF-XChange Editor executable (PDFXCview.exe or PDFXEdit.exe), select Properties, then view the Details tab for the Product Version. Alternatively, open the application and go to Help > About.Affected if The version is exactly 9.3.361.0.
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Determine if EMF file handling is enabledThe EMF parser is part of the core application and handles EMF files when they are opened directly or embedded in PDF documents. Check if the application has been configured to disable or restrict file type handling through its options or group policy settings.Affected if EMF file processing is enabled (the default state) and users can open EMF files.
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Assess exposure to untrusted EMF filesReview whether users can receive or open EMF file attachments from email, network shares, or external sources. Check if file type filtering or email gateway blocks are in place for .emf files.Affected if Users can open EMF files from untrusted or external sources without additional verification or blocking.
A user is affected if PDF-XChange Editor version 9.3.361.0 is installed and users can open or process EMF files from potentially untrusted sources, since the vulnerability triggers during parsing of malformed EMF data.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply the vendor patch when available. Until then, restrict user ability to open EMF files from untrusted sources and consider blocking EMF file attachments at email/network perimeters.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-37353 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-37353 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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