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Pdf Xchange EditorApplication · Pdf Xchange

CVE-2022-42385

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.5.366.0 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
This 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 U3D files. Crafted data in a U3D 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-18654.

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

Out-of-bounds read vulnerability in PDF-XChange Editor's U3D (3D PDF content) file parser allows reading past the end of an allocated buffer, potentially exposing sensitive memory contents. Exploitation requires user interaction to open a malicious PDF file containing crafted U3D data. While primarily an information disclosure issue, it can be chained with other vulnerabilities for code execution.

MitigationUpdate PDF-XChange Editor to the latest patched version; implement input validation/sanitization for U3D file parsing; avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.

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
Pdf Xchange EditorApplication
Affected:< 9.5.366.0

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify if PDF-XChange Editor is installed
    Check the installed programs list in Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or use PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*PDF-XChange*Editor*'}
    Affected if PDF-XChange Editor is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version of PDF-XChange Editor
    In the application, go to Help > About, or check the version in the Windows Programs and Features list, or inspect the executable properties of the installed PDF-XChange Editor binary
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 9.5.366.0
  3. Verify if U3D/3D PDF parsing functionality is available
    Open PDF-XChange Editor and attempt to access the 3D content viewer or check if the application can render PDF files containing 3D U3D objects
    Affected if U3D/3D PDF content rendering is enabled and functional in the installation
  4. Confirm exposure to untrusted PDF files
    Review whether the user or system handles PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources, or check recent PDF files opened with the application
    Affected if Users routinely open PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources

A user is affected if PDF-XChange Editor version 9.5.366.0 or later is NOT installed AND the system handles PDF files containing U3D/3D content from potentially 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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 9.5.366.0 or later
Fixed in 9.5.366.0
Interim mitigation

Update PDF-XChange Editor to the latest patched version; implement input validation/sanitization for U3D file parsing; avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

PDF-XChange Editor version 9.5.366.0 or later

  1. Navigate to the official PDF-XChange Editor download page at www.tracker-software.com
  2. Download version 9.5.366.0 or later of PDF-XChange Editor
  3. Verify the version number matches or exceeds 9.5.366.0 before installation
  4. Install the updated version of the software
  5. Restart PDF-XChange Editor if it was running during the update

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Pdf Xchange Editor Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,400
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-42385 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data