CVE-2023-51609
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 JP2 File Parsing 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 parsing of JP2 files. 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 object. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-21834.
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 confidenceKofax Power PDF contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in its JP2 (JPEG 2000) file parsing component. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data during JP2 parsing allows an attacker to read past the end of an allocated object, exposing sensitive information. Exploitation requires user interaction (opening a malicious file), and when chained with other vulnerabilities, can lead to arbitrary code execution.
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< 5.0.0.21CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Power PDF installationLocate the installed Kofax Power PDF or Tungstenautomation Power PDF application on the system and determine its exact version number from the application's About or Help section, or from the program's properties in the installed files.Affected if The installed version is less than 5.0.0.21
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Compare version against affected rangeCompare the discovered version number to the affected range: any version lower than 5.0.0.21 is vulnerable.Affected if The installed version is < 5.0.0.21
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Assess JP2 file usageDetermine whether the Power PDF installation is used to open or process JP2 (JPEG 2000) image files, as this is the vulnerable parsing component.Affected if Users open JP2 files with a version < 5.0.0.21
A user is affected if they have Power PDF version installed that is less than 5.0.0.21 and they open malicious JP2 files, which triggers the out-of-bounds read in the JP2 parsing component.
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 · scoped5.0.0.21
Apply the vendor-supplied patch or update to the latest version of Kofax Power PDF. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited JP2 files.
Power PDF version 5.0.0.21 or later
- Obtain the latest version of Kofax Power PDF (version 5.0.0.21 or later) from the official vendor website or your organization's software distribution channel
- Ensure all user sessions are closed and any active Power PDF instances are terminated
- Backup important PDF documents stored in the Power PDF application directory
- Run the installer for Power PDF version 5.0.0.21 or newer
- Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
- Restart the application after installation completes
- Verify the installed version by checking Help > About Power PDF to confirm version 5.0.0.21 or later is installed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-51609 — 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-2023-51609 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data