CVE-2023-37346
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 TIF 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 TIF 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-20443.
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 an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in its TIF file parsing logic. When processing a specially crafted TIF file, the application fails to validate user-supplied data properly, allowing writes beyond allocated buffer boundaries. This can be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process when a user opens a malicious file.
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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Confirm Power PDF installationLocate the Power PDF application on the system. Check common installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Kofax\Power PDF or C:\Program Files (x86)\Kofax\Power PDF, or search for executable files named 'Power PDF.exe' using file explorer or command-line search tools.Affected if The application is not present on the system.
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Identify installed version numberRight-click the Power PDF executable, select Properties, then navigate to the Details tab to view the File Version. Alternatively, open Power PDF, click Help, then About to display the version information.Affected if The version cannot be determined or the application is not found.
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Compare version against vulnerable rangeReview the identified version number and compare it to the affected range: versions prior to 5.0.0.11 are vulnerable. For example, versions 5.0.0.10, 4.0.x, 3.x.x, and earlier are all within the affected range.Affected if The installed version is less than 5.0.0.11 (for example, 5.0.0.10 or earlier).
If Power PDF is installed and the version is below 5.0.0.11, the environment is vulnerable when processing untrusted TIF 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
Avoid opening untrusted TIF files until an official vendor patch is available. Organizations should implement file type restrictions and sandboxing for document processing workflows.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,016.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-37346 — 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-2023-37346 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
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