CVE-2023-42038
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 PDF File Parsing Heap-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 parsing of PDF files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a fixed-length heap-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-21602.
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 heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Kofax Power PDF's PDF file parsing functionality. The flaw results from insufficient validation of user-supplied data length before copying to a fixed-size heap buffer, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via malicious PDF files.
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< 5.0.0.12CVSS 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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Check if Kofax Power PDF is installedLook for Power PDF in the installed programs list (Add/Remove Programs on Windows, or check common installation directories like C:\Program Files\Kofax or C:\Program Files\Tungsten Automation)Affected if Power PDF is present on the system
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Determine the installed Power PDF versionOpen Power PDF and navigate to Help > About, or right-click the executable and select Properties > Details to view the version numberAffected if The version number is lower than 5.0.0.12 or cannot be determined (treat as potentially vulnerable)
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Verify the PDF parsing component is in useThe vulnerability affects PDF file parsing - any attempt to open a PDF file triggers the vulnerable code pathAffected if Power PDF is used to open PDF files from any source
The user is affected if Kofax Power PDF or Tungsten Automation Power PDF is installed with a version lower than 5.0.0.12, as the heap-based buffer overflow in PDF parsing can be triggered by 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 · scoped5.0.0.12
Apply the vendor-supplied patch or update to a fixed version of Kofax Power PDF. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.
Power PDF 5.0.0.12 or later
- 1. Back up all important PDF files and any custom settings from the current Power PDF installation
- 2. Uninstall the current version of Power PDF from the system
- 3. Download Power PDF version 5.0.0.12 or later from the official Kofax website or trusted distribution channel
- 4. Install the updated version by running the downloaded installer
- 5. Verify the installation by checking Help > About in the application to confirm the version number
- 6. Re-apply any custom settings or configurations that were backed up
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-42038 — 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-2023-42038 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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