CVE-2022-42415
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 JP2 files. Crafted data in a JP2 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-18366.
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 a buffer overflow vulnerability in PDF-XChange Editor's JP2 (JPEG2000) image file parser. When the application opens a specially crafted malicious JP2 file, the parser writes data past the end of an allocated memory buffer, allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user process. Exploitation requires the user to open a malicious file or visit a malicious webpage.
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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Identify PDF-XChange Editor versionOpen PDF-XChange Editor and navigate to Help > About PDF-XChange Editor to view the installed version numberAffected if The displayed version is lower than 9.5.366.0
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Verify JP2 file parsing capabilityConfirm the application can process JPEG2000 (.jp2) image files, as this is the vulnerable componentAffected if The application is configured to open or render JP2 image files
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Confirm user file interactionAssess whether users can open files from untrusted sources, as exploitation requires the user to open a malicious JP2 fileAffected if Users have the ability to open files from untrusted or unknown sources
You are affected if PDF-XChange Editor version is below 9.5.366.0 and the application handles JP2 image files, which it does by default.
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 for PDF-XChange Editor to patch the vulnerable JP2 parsing code. Until patched, instruct users to avoid opening untrusted JP2 files or disable JP2 rendering if the application supports such options.
PDF-XChange Editor 9.5.366.0 or later
- 1. Open PDF-XChange Editor
- 2. Check the current version by going to Help > About PDF-XChange Editor
- 3. Navigate to www.tracker-software.com and download the latest version of PDF-XChange Editor
- 4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to upgrade
- 5. Verify the installed version is 9.5.366.0 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-42415 — 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-2022-42415 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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