CVE-2023-37338
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 Out-Of-Bounds Write 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 user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of an allocated object. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-20394.
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 · moderate confidenceKofax Power PDF contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in its GIF file parsing logic. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data during GIF parsing allows an attacker to write beyond the bounds of an allocated object, leading to remote code execution in the context of the current user 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:3.0/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 the installed Power PDF productOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check C:\Program Files\ for 'Power PDF' or 'Kofax Power PDF' folderAffected if The product is Tungstenautomation Power PDF or Kofax Power PDF
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Determine the installed version numberRight-click the Power PDF executable in Program Files, select Properties, and view the 'File version' field under the Details tabAffected if The version is below 5.0.0.11 (e.g., 5.0.0.10, 4.x, 3.x, etc.)
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Verify the application can process image filesLaunch Power PDF and attempt to insert a GIF image into a document, or check File > Open for GIF file type supportAffected if GIF files can be opened or inserted into documents, enabling the vulnerable parsing code path
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Confirm the GIF parsing component is presentCheck that the Power PDF installation directory contains image processing DLLs (e.g., search for 'gif' related files in the installation folder)Affected if GIF parsing libraries are present in the installation
If Power PDF or Kofax Power PDF is installed with a version number lower than 5.0.0.11, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2023-37338 when processing GIF files.
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.
From vendor data5.0.0.11
Users should avoid opening untrusted or malicious GIF files until an official vendor patch is available. Organizations should consider endpoint detection and network-based controls to block delivery of suspicious file attachments.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-37338 — 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-2023-37338 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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