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Power PdfApplication · Tungstenautomation

CVE-2023-38078

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 Use-After-Free 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 validating the existence of an object prior to performing operations on the 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-20472.

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 use-after-free vulnerability exists in Kofax Power PDF's U3D (Universal 3D) file parser. The parser fails to validate that an object exists before performing operations on it, leading to memory corruption. When the memory is freed and then accessed, sensitive information from freed memory can be disclosed. Attackers can exploit this by tricking users into opening malicious U3D files, and chain it with other vulnerabilities for arbitrary code execution.

MitigationAvoid opening untrusted or unverified U3D files in Kofax Power PDF. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement input validation and sandboxing for U3D parsing components.

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. Check if Power PDF is installed
    Look for Power PDF installation in typical locations: C:\Program Files\Kofax\Power PDF or C:\Program Files (x86)\Kofax\Power PDF. On Windows, also check Add/Remove Programs or Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product.
    Affected if Power PDF is not found on the system, the vulnerability does not apply.
  2. Determine installed Power PDF version
    Right-click the Power PDF executable (typically Power PDF.exe in the installation folder), select Properties, and check the Details tab for Product Version. Alternatively, run: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*Power PDF*'} | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion
    Affected if The installed version number is lower than 5.0.0.10.
  3. Verify the U3D parsing component is present
    Check for the existence of PDF filter or parsing DLLs that handle U3D content. Common files include u3d*.dll or 3D-related modules in the Power PDF installation directory.
    Affected if U3D parsing components are present and the version is below 5.0.0.10.
  4. Check if user handles U3D files
    Review recent PDF documents opened with Power PDF or check file association settings for .u3d or PDF files containing 3D content.
    Affected if Users open PDF documents containing embedded U3D 3D content with an affected version.

A system is affected if Tungstenautomation Power PDF is installed with a version lower than 5.0.0.10 and users can open PDF files containing U3D 3D objects.

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

Avoid opening untrusted or unverified U3D files in Kofax Power PDF. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement input validation and sandboxing for U3D parsing components.

Recommended fix High confidence

Power PDF 5.0.0.10 or later

  1. 1. Verify current Power PDF version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Power PDF
  2. 2. Download Power PDF version 5.0.0.10 or later from the official Kofax website or vendor distribution channel
  3. 3. Close all instances of Power PDF and any related processes
  4. 4. Run the installer with appropriate administrative privileges
  5. 5. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. 6. After installation, verify the new version by checking Help > About Power PDF to confirm version 5.0.0.10 or higher is installed

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
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2023-38078 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