dbcve.org
Power PdfApplication · Tungstenautomation

CVE-2023-42039

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.0.12 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 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-21603.

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

Heap-based buffer overflow in Kofax Power PDF's PDF file parsing. The vulnerability results from insufficient validation of user-supplied data length before copying to a fixed-size heap buffer, allowing arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process.

MitigationAvoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files. Apply vendor patches when available. Consider email/web gateway filtering for untrusted PDF attachments.

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:< 5.0.0.12

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. Check if Power PDF is installed
    Search for the application on the system: Look in Program Files for 'Tungstenautomation Power PDF' or 'Kofax Power PDF' folder, or check Add/Remove Programs for 'Power PDF' entry
    Affected if The software is present on the system
  2. Identify the installed version
    Locate the PowerPdf.exe executable in the installation directory, right-click it, select Properties, and check the File Version in the Details tab. Alternatively, open Power PDF and navigate to Help > About
    Affected if The version is readable and can be compared to 5.0.0.12
  3. Compare version to affected range
    Examine the full version string (typically formatted as major.minor.patch.build). Check if the version is below 5.0.0.12, meaning versions like 5.0.0.x (where x < 12) or any 4.x version are affected
    Affected if Version is 5.0.0.x where x is less than 12, or any version 4.x or earlier

If Power PDF is installed and its version is below 5.0.0.12, the environment is vulnerable when parsing untrusted PDF files

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 5.0.0.12 or later
Fixed in 5.0.0.12
Interim mitigation

Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files. Apply vendor patches when available. Consider email/web gateway filtering for untrusted PDF attachments.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Kofax Power PDF 5.0.0.12 or later (recommend latest stable 5.x release)

  1. 1. Verify the current installed version of Kofax Power PDF by opening the application and navigating to Help > About or checking in Programs and Features
  2. 2. Download Kofax Power PDF version 5.0.0.12 or later from the official Kofax website or your organization's software 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 to confirm version 5.0.0.12 or higher is installed
  7. 7. Test that existing PDF workflows function correctly with the updated version

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
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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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-2023-42039 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