dbcve.org
Power PdfApplication · Tungstenautomation

CVE-2023-44433

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.0.15 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 AcroForm Annotation Out-Of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information 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 handling of Annotation objects. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a read past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process. . Was ZDI-CAN-21977.

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 · moderate confidence

Kofax Power PDF contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in its AcroForm Annotation handling. The flaw exists due to insufficient validation of user-supplied data when processing Annotation objects, allowing an attacker to read past the end of an allocated buffer and disclose sensitive information. While user interaction is required (opening a malicious PDF), this vulnerability can be chained with other flaws to achieve code execution.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches for Kofax Power PDF when available. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and disable automatic opening of attachments in email clients.

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Identify installed Power PDF version
    Open Power PDF, then go to Help > About or check the program's version through Windows Programs and Features. The version number displayed is what you need.
    Affected if The version is lower than 5.0.0.15 (for example, 4.x.x.x or earlier)
  2. Confirm product name matches affected software
    Verify the installed software is specifically Kofax Power PDF or Tungstenautomation Power PDF, not another PDF viewer. Check the application name in the installed programs list.
    Affected if The product is Kofax Power PDF or Tungstenautomation Power PDF with version below 5.0.0.15
  3. Determine if AcroForm features are used
    Check whether your organization regularly opens PDF forms or documents containing fillable form fields. Look for PDFs with interactive form elements or check recent files for .pdf files that may contain annotations.
    Affected if Users routinely open PDF files, especially forms or documents from external sources, as the vulnerability triggers when processing Annotation objects in AcroForm handling
  4. Assess email attachment handling
    Check email client settings for whether attachments automatically open or preview. Inspect whether users download and open PDF files from email or web sources.
    Affected if Users open PDF attachments from email or download PDFs from untrusted sources without additional sandboxing or validation

You are affected if Kofax Power PDF or Tungstenautomation Power PDF version is below 5.0.0.15 and users open PDF files, particularly those with AcroForm annotations from untrusted sources.

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 when available. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and disable automatic opening of attachments in email clients.

Recommended fix High confidence

Power PDF version 5.0.0.15 or later

  1. Upgrade Kofax Power PDF to version 5.0.0.15 or later
  2. After upgrading, verify the version by going to Help > About Power PDF
  3. Ensure users are trained to avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources as an additional precaution

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Power Pdf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2023-44433 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