CVE-2023-37331
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 GIF File Parsing Stack-based Buffer Overflow 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 parsing of GIF files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-20373.
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 confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Kofax Power PDF's GIF file parsing functionality. The application fails to validate the length of user-supplied data from GIF files before copying it to a fixed-length stack-based buffer, allowing attackers to overwrite return addresses and execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process.
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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Check if Power PDF is installedLook for the application in the system: Check C:\Program Files\Tungsten Power PDF or C:\Program Files (x86)\Tungsten Power PDF directories, or check Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries containing 'Power PDF'Affected if Power PDF is found on the system
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Determine the installed Power PDF versionOpen Power PDF and navigate to Help > About, or right-click the Power PDF executable in the installation folder and select Properties > Details to view the File VersionAffected if Version is 5.0.0.10 or lower, or any version below 5.0.0.11
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Verify GIF file parsing is accessibleConfirm that Power PDF can open or import image files - check file associations or try opening a GIF file through File > OpenAffected if GIF files can be opened or previewed within the application
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Check for recent GIF file activityReview recent documents or temporary files in the Power PDF user data directory (typically in AppData\Local\Tungsten Power PDF) for recently opened GIF filesAffected if Users have opened GIF files in Power PDF, triggering the vulnerable code path
A system is affected if Tungsten Power PDF is installed with a version lower than 5.0.0.11 and users can open GIF files within the application.
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
Avoid opening untrusted or unverified GIF files. Apply vendor security patches when released. Implement network-level controls to block malicious file downloads.
Power PDF version 5.0.0.11 or later
- Upgrade Power PDF to version 5.0.0.11 or later to remediate this vulnerability
- Avoid opening untrusted GIF files from unknown sources
- Implement user awareness training to prevent opening of malicious attachments or visiting compromised websites
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-37331 — 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-2023-37331 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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