CVE-2022-37357
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 execute arbitrary code 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 ICO files. Crafted data in an ICO file can trigger a write past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-17631.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in PDF-XChange Editor's ICO file parser. Crafted ICO files contain malformed data that triggers a write operation beyond allocated buffer boundaries, enabling arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process. User interaction required (opening malicious file or visiting malicious page).
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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if PDF-XChange Editor is installedOpen Windows Settings > Apps & Features or use 'Get-ItemProperty' in PowerShell to query the registry under HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries containing 'PDF-XChange Editor'Affected if No PDF-XChange Editor installation found means not affected
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Identify installed PDF-XChange Editor versionRight-click the application shortcut and select Properties, or check the version in Help > About within the application, or query the uninstall registry key for the DisplayVersion valueAffected if The installed version is exactly 9.3.361.0 (note: only this exact version is affected, not a range)
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Confirm ICO file handling capabilityThe vulnerability is in the ICO file parser which processes ICO images embedded in PDF files or opened directly; no additional configuration check needed as the parser is built into the affected versionAffected if Version 9.3.361.0 is installed and the application can open or preview ICO files
You are affected only if PDF-XChange Editor version 9.3.361.0 is installed and users can open ICO files (the vulnerable parser is always present in this version).
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 vendor patch when available. Until then, enforce least privilege, disable file preview associations if possible, and train users to avoid opening ICO files from untrusted sources.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-37357 — 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-2022-37357 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data