CVE-2023-38091
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 response Type Confusion 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 implementation of the app.response method. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a type confusion condition. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-20601.
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 confidenceType confusion vulnerability in Kofax Power PDF's app.response method due to insufficient validation of user-supplied data. An attacker can exploit this by crafting a malicious PDF file that, when opened by a user, triggers type confusion allowing arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process.
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< 5.0.0.10CVSS 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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Verify Power PDF installationCheck if Tungstenautomation Power PDF is installed on the system by looking in Program Files or Program Files (x86) for a 'Power PDF' folder, or check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry containing 'Power PDF' or 'Kofax Power PDF'.Affected if Power PDF is installed on the system.
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Check installed Power PDF versionLocate the main Power PDF executable (typically 'Power PDF.exe' or 'Kofax Power PDF.exe' in the installation directory) and right-click to view Properties, then check the 'Details' tab for the Product Version. Alternatively, run 'Get-ItemProperty' in PowerShell on the executable path.Affected if The displayed version number is lower than 5.0.0.10.
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Verify vulnerable app.response component existsCheck if the Power PDF application files contain the component handling the app.response method. Look for PDF processing DLLs in the installation directory, particularly those related to JavaScript or scripting functionality within the PDF viewer.Affected if The app.response method implementation exists in the installed version.
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Inspect recent PDF activity for suspicious filesReview recently opened PDF files in the user's recent documents or temporary folders (such as %USERPROFILE%\Recent or %APPDATA%\Tungstenautomation\Power PDF\Recent) for untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.Affected if Users have opened PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources.
A user is affected if Tungstenautomation Power PDF is installed with a version lower than 5.0.0.10 and users may open PDF files from untrusted sources.
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 data5.0.0.10
Apply vendor patch when released; until then, instruct users to avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38091 — 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-2023-38091 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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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.
- 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