CVE-2023-37330
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 · uneditedKofax Power PDF exportAsText Exposed Dangerous Method Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Kofax Power PDF. 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 exportAsText method. The application exposes a JavaScript interface that allows the attacker to write arbitrary files. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current user. Was ZDI-CAN-20230.
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 confidenceKofax Power PDF contains the exportAsText method which exposes a dangerous JavaScript interface allowing arbitrary file write operations. An attacker can craft a malicious PDF file that, when opened by a user, triggers this method to write arbitrary files to the filesystem, leading to code execution in the context of the current user.
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< 5.0.0.11CVSS 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 installed Power PDF versionOpen Power PDF and navigate to Help > About, or check Programs and Features in Control Panel to locate the version numberAffected if the version shown is lower than 5.0.0.11 (e.g., 5.0.0.10, 4.x, 3.x)
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Check JavaScript execution status in Power PDFOpen Power PDF, go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript and verify whether JavaScript is enabledAffected if JavaScript execution is turned ON (the vulnerability requires JavaScript to be enabled to trigger the malicious PDF)
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Verify PDF security settingsGo to Edit > Preferences > Security and check if untrusted PDF files are allowed to run scripts automaticallyAffected if Auto-execute JavaScript or scripts from untrusted files is permitted in the security settings
You are affected if your Power PDF version is below 5.0.0.11 AND JavaScript is enabled in the application settings, as the exploit requires both conditions to trigger arbitrary file writes through the malicious PDF.
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 · scoped5.0.0.11
Apply vendor-supplied patches for Kofax Power PDF when available; until then, exercise caution when opening PDF files from untrusted sources and consider disabling JavaScript execution in PDF applications where possible.
Power PDF 5.0.0.11 or later
- Upgrade Kofax Power PDF to version 5.0.0.11 or later to remediate the vulnerability
- Verify the installed version by accessing Help > About Power PDF
- After upgrading, ensure the exportAsText JavaScript interface no longer allows arbitrary file writes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,648.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-37330 — 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-2023-37330 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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