dbcve.org
Power PdfApplication · Tungstenautomation

CVE-2023-37349

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.0.11 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 · unedited
Kofax Power PDF PDF 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 PDF 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 buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-20451.

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 confidence

This is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Kofax Power PDF's PDF file parsing functionality. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data during PDF parsing allows an attacker to write past the end of an allocated buffer, potentially achieving remote code execution in the context of the current process.

MitigationApply vendor patches for Kofax Power PDF when available. Until then, avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files and consider deploying endpoint protection or sandboxing as a defense-in-depth measure.

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
Power PdfApplication
Affected:< 5.0.0.11

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Power PDF is installed
    Check the system for Tungstenautomation Power PDF or Kofax Power PDF installation. Look in Program Files folder or use system inventory tools to find the product.
    Affected if The product is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version
    Right-click the Power PDF executable (typically PowerPDF.exe or similar) in the installation directory, select Properties, and view the Details tab for the File Version. Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs for the installed version.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 5.0.0.11
  3. Compare against affected version range
    Compare your identified version number to the affected range: any version below 5.0.0.11 is vulnerable.
    Affected if The version starts with numbers lower than 5.0.0.11 (for example, 4.x.x.x, 3.x.x.x, or any 5.0.0.x version below 5.0.0.11)
  4. Confirm PDF parsing is in use
    This vulnerability exists in the core PDF parsing component, which is automatically engaged whenever Power PDF opens or processes any PDF file.
    Affected if The software is used to open PDF files, which is its primary function

A system is affected if Tungstenautomation Power PDF or Kofax Power PDF is installed with any version number lower than 5.0.0.11.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.0.0.11 or later
Fixed in 5.0.0.11
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches for Kofax Power PDF when available. Until then, avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files and consider deploying endpoint protection or sandboxing as a defense-in-depth measure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

5.0.0.11

  1. Obtain the latest version of Kofax Power PDF (version 5.0.0.11 or later) from the official vendor website or your organization's software distribution channel
  2. Close any running instances of Kofax Power PDF
  3. Install version 5.0.0.11 or later using the vendor's standard installation procedure
  4. Restart the application after installation completes
  5. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds 5.0.0.11

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Power Pdf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-37349 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data