dbcve.org
Power PdfApplication · Tungstenautomation

CVE-2023-44432

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.0.15 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 Out-Of-Bounds Write 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 write past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-21584.

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

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in Kofax Power PDF's PDF file parsing functionality due to insufficient validation of user-supplied data. The flaw allows writing past the end of an allocated buffer during PDF parsing, which can be leveraged to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches for Kofax Power PDF. Until patched, exercise caution with PDF files from untrusted sources and consider disabling PDF handling in browsers or using sandboxing solutions.

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:< 5.0.0.15

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. Confirm Power PDF installation
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check Start Menu for Tungstenautomation Power PDF or Kofax Power PDF entries
    Affected if The software is installed on the system
  2. Locate the installed version
    Right-click the Power PDF executable (typically in C:\Program Files\Tungsten Power PDF or C:\Program Files\Kofax), select Properties, and view the Details tab for the Product Version
    Affected if No version information is found or the executable does not exist
  3. Compare against affected version
    Compare the installed version number to 5.0.0.15 - any version below 5.0.0.15 is affected (for example, 5.0.0.14, 4.x, 3.x)
    Affected if The installed version is less than 5.0.0.15
  4. Identify PDF parsing usage context
    Check if the application has been used to open PDF files, or if browser plugins or integrations are enabled that automatically process PDF files
    Affected if PDF files from untrusted sources could be processed by the vulnerable parsing code

The system is affected if Tungstenautomation Power PDF or Kofax Power PDF is installed with any version lower than 5.0.0.15.

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 5.0.0.15 or later
Fixed in 5.0.0.15
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches for Kofax Power PDF. Until patched, exercise caution with PDF files from untrusted sources and consider disabling PDF handling in browsers or using sandboxing solutions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Power PDF version 5.0.0.15 or later

  1. 1. Determine the current version of Kofax Power PDF installed on the system
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Kofax website or the vendor's download portal to obtain Power PDF version 5.0.0.15 or later
  3. 3. Download the installer for the fixed version
  4. 4. Close all instances of Power PDF and any related applications
  5. 5. Run the installer and follow the prompts to upgrade Power PDF to version 5.0.0.15 or later
  6. 6. Restart the system if prompted by the installer
  7. 7. Verify the installation by checking the updated version number in Power PDF's About section
Caveat Review release notes for version 5.0.0.15 to check for any feature changes or migration requirements from older 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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-44432 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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