CVE-2023-38093
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 saveAs Stack-based Buffer Overflow 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 saveAs method. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-20604.
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 confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Kofax Power PDF's saveAs method. The flaw results from inadequate validation of user-supplied data length before copying to a fixed-size stack buffer, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process when a user opens a malicious PDF file.
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 for Tungstenautomation Power PDF or Kofax Power PDF in the list of installed programs (Add/Remove Programs on Windows), or look for the application executable (PowerPDF.exe) in typical installation paths such as C:\Program Files\Kofax\Power PDF or C:\Program Files\Tungsten Automation\Power PDFAffected if Power PDF is installed on the system
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Locate the Power PDF executableNavigate to the installation directory and locate PowerPDF.exe, or search for the file using Windows File Explorer or the command: dir /s /b PowerPDF.exe on system drivesAffected if PowerPDF.exe is found on the system
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Retrieve the installed version numberRight-click on PowerPDF.exe, select Properties, then view the Details tab to find the File Version or Product Version field. Alternatively, open Power PDF and check Help > AboutAffected if Version information is obtainable and shows a Power PDF installation
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Compare version against affected rangeTake the installed version number and compare it to 5.0.0.10 - any version lower than 5.0.0.10 (such as 5.0.0.9, 4.x.x.x, 3.x.x.x) falls within the affected rangeAffected if Installed version is below 5.0.0.10 (for example: 5.0.0.9, 4.1.0.0, etc.)
A user is affected if Tungsten Automation Power PDF is installed with a version lower than 5.0.0.10, as the stack-based buffer overflow in the saveAs method exists in those versions and could trigger when opening a malicious PDF file.
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.
dbcve · scoped5.0.0.10
Apply vendor-supplied patches when available. Until then, avoid opening untrusted or malicious PDF files and exercise caution with links to untrusted websites.
Kofax Power PDF 5.0.0.10 or later
- Upgrade Kofax Power PDF to version 5.0.0.10 or later to remediate the stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the saveAs method
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38093 — 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-2023-38093 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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- 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
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