CVE-2022-42379
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 U3D files. Crafted data in a U3D file can trigger a read 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-18648.
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 confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in PDF-XChange Editor's U3D (Universal 3D) file parser. Crafted malicious U3D data triggers a read past the end of an allocated buffer, which can be leveraged by an attacker for arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process. User interaction is required (opening a malicious file or visiting a 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< 9.5.366.0CVSS 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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Verify PDF-XChange Editor is installedCheck for the application in Program Files (typically C:\Program Files\PDF-XChange\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\PDF-XChange\) or look for the executable (PDFXEdit.exe) in common installation directoriesAffected if The application is present on the system
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Identify the installed versionRight-click on PDFXEdit.exe, select Properties, then look at the Details tab for the Product Version. Alternatively, open the application and go to Help > About PDF-XChange Editor to display the version numberAffected if Version number is displayed and can be compared to the affected range
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Compare version to affected rangeTake the identified version number (for example, 9.5.365.0) and compare it to the affected range: any version below 9.5.366.0 is vulnerableAffected if Installed version is less than 9.5.366.0 (for example, 9.5.365.0, 9.4.0, 8.0, etc.)
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Check for recent U3D file processingReview browser download history or local files for recently opened .pdf files that may contain embedded U3D content. U3D files typically have .u3d extension when extracted or can be embedded within PDF documentsAffected if User has recently opened untrusted PDF files containing U3D content on an unpatched version
You are affected if PDF-XChange Editor is installed with a version lower than 9.5.366.0 and the user opens a malicious PDF file containing crafted U3D 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.
dbcve · scoped9.5.366.0
Apply the vendor security update/patch for PDF-XChange Editor. Until patched, advise users to avoid opening untrusted U3D files or visiting untrusted websites that could deliver malicious content.
9.5.366.0 or later
- Check the current version of PDF-XChange Editor by navigating to Help > About in the application menu
- Navigate to the official PDF-XChange website at www.tracker-software.com and locate the download section for PDF-XChange Editor
- Download version 9.5.366.0 or later from the official source
- Close PDF-XChange Editor if it is currently running
- Run the installer and follow the prompts to upgrade to the fixed version
- Verify the installation by checking Help > About to confirm the version is 9.5.366.0 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-42379 — 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-2022-42379 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