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Power PdfApplication · Tungstenautomation

CVE-2023-38077

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.0.10 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 U3D File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information 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 U3D files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a read past the end of an allocated object. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-20471.

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

A missing bounds check in Kofax Power PDF's U3D file parser allows reading past the end of an allocated buffer when parsing specially crafted U3D files. This out-of-bounds read exposes sensitive memory contents to an attacker who tricks a user into opening a malicious file.

MitigationApply the vendor patch when available. Until then, instruct users not to open untrusted U3D files and consider blocking U3D file attachments at the email gateway.

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:< 5.0.0.10

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Confirm Power PDF installation
    Check for the presence of Power PDF in the installed programs list. On Windows, open Control Panel > Programs and Features or run: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' | Select-Object DisplayName | Where-Object {$_ -like '*Power PDF*'}
    Affected if Power PDF is not installed on the system
  2. Determine installed version
    Locate the Power PDF executable and check its file version. Common paths: C:\Program Files\Kofax\Power PDF\Bin\PowerPDF.exe or C:\Program Files\Tungsten Automation\Power PDF\Bin\PowerPDF.exe. Right-click the .exe, select Properties, and check the Details tab for Product Version, or run: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\Kofax\Power PDF\Bin\PowerPDF.exe').VersionInfo.ProductVersion
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 5.0.0.10 (for example, 4.0.x.x or 5.0.0.x below 5.0.0.10)
  3. Verify U3D file handling capability
    Attempt to open a benign U3D file or check if the application has U3D parsing libraries present. Examine the Power PDF installation directory for U3D-related DLL files (such as u3d*.dll) in the Bin folder. The presence of these files indicates U3D parsing is available.
    Affected if U3D parsing capability exists in the installation and the version is vulnerable

The system is affected if Power PDF is installed with a version lower than 5.0.0.10, as the missing bounds check in the U3D parser will be triggered when opening a malicious U3D file.

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 5.0.0.10 or later
Fixed in 5.0.0.10
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch when available. Until then, instruct users not to open untrusted U3D files and consider blocking U3D file attachments at the email gateway.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Power PDF 5.0.0.10 or later

  1. 1. Verify current Power PDF installation version via Help > About or program properties
  2. 2. Download Power PDF version 5.0.0.10 or later from the official Kofax website
  3. 3. Close all Power PDF instances and related applications
  4. 4. Run the installer with administrator privileges
  5. 5. Follow the installation wizard prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. 6. Restart the system if prompted
  7. 7. Verify the installed version is 5.0.0.10 or higher

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

Fix this in Power Pdf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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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-2023-38077 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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