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Power PdfApplication · Tungstenautomation

CVE-2023-38084

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.0.10 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 Memory Corruption 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 memory corruption condition. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-20490.

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 confidence

Kofax Power PDF contains a memory corruption vulnerability in its PDF file parsing logic. The flaw results from insufficient validation of user-supplied data during PDF parsing, allowing an attacker to trigger memory corruption and achieve arbitrary code execution within the application's context. Exploitation requires the victim to open a specially crafted malicious PDF file.

MitigationApply vendor-provided security patches for Kofax Power PDF when available. Until then, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and consider disabling JavaScript execution within the PDF reader 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:< 5.0.0.10

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
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. Identify Power PDF installation
    Check the installed version of Power PDF or Tungstenautomation Power PDF on the system. This can typically be found in the application's About dialog (Help > About), in the Windows Programs and Features list, or by right-clicking the executable and viewing Properties > Details. The version number is displayed there.
    Affected if The installed version is shown as lower than 5.0.0.10 (for example, 5.0.0.9, 4.x, 3.x, etc.)
  2. Confirm PDF parsing component
    Verify that the Power PDF application is present and functional on the system. The vulnerability exists in the core PDF parsing logic, so any installation of Power PDF that processes PDF files is potentially affected.
    Affected if Power PDF is installed and can be used to open PDF files, and the version is below 5.0.0.10

A system is affected if Power PDF or Tungstenautomation Power PDF is installed with a version number lower than 5.0.0.10.

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 vendor-provided security patches for Kofax Power PDF when available. Until then, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and consider disabling JavaScript execution within the PDF reader as a defense-in-depth measure.

Recommended fix High confidence

Power PDF version 5.0.0.10 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Kofax Power PDF on the system
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Kofax support or download page for Power PDF
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Power PDF (version 5.0.0.10 or later)
  4. 4. Close any running instances of Power PDF
  5. 5. Run the installer and follow the prompts to upgrade the software
  6. 6. After installation, verify the new version by checking About Power PDF in the application
Caveat Review release notes for version 5.0.x for any feature changes or migration considerations from earlier major versions

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,360
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,176.

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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-2023-38084 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