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Power PdfApplication · Tungstenautomation

CVE-2024-27337

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.0.17 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 TIF File Parsing Stack-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 TIF 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 stack-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-22033.

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

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Kofax Power PDF's TIF file parsing functionality. The application fails to validate the length of user-supplied data before copying it into a fixed-size stack buffer, allowing an attacker to overwrite stack memory and achieve remote code execution in the context of the current process.

MitigationAvoid opening untrusted or unexpected TIF files from untrusted sources. Apply vendor patches when available. Run the application with least privileges to limit impact of potential exploitation.

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:< 5.0.0.17

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:3.1/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. Identify if Power PDF is installed
    Check the Windows registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths or look for the Power PDF executable (Power PDF.exe) in common installation paths like C:\Program Files\Kofax\Power PDF or C:\Program Files\Tungsten Power PDF
    Affected if The application is present on the system
  2. Determine installed Power PDF version
    Right-click Power PDF.exe, select Properties, then view the Details tab to see the File Version. Alternatively, check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Kofax\Power PDF\{version} or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Tungsten Power PDF for the installed version value
    Affected if Version is present but cannot be determined or verified against known versions
  3. Compare version against affected range
    Compare the identified version number to the affected range. The vulnerability affects versions prior to 5.0.0.17
    Affected if Installed version is lower than 5.0.0.17 (for example, 5.0.0.16, 4.x, or earlier)
  4. Verify TIF file handling is accessible
    Attempt to open a TIF file using Power PDF or verify the application can process TIF image files through the File > Open dialog
    Affected if TIF file format support is enabled and the application can open TIF files

A user is affected if Power PDF is installed with a version lower than 5.0.0.17 and the application can be used to open TIF 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 5.0.0.17 or later
Fixed in 5.0.0.17
Interim mitigation

Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected TIF files from untrusted sources. Apply vendor patches when available. Run the application with least privileges to limit impact of potential exploitation.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Kofax Power PDF 5.0.0.17 or later

  1. Obtain the latest version of Kofax Power PDF (version 5.0.0.17 or later) from the official vendor website or through your organization's software distribution channel
  2. Uninstall the current version of Power PDF or use the vendor's upgrade mechanism to install the new version
  3. After upgrading, verify the installation by checking Help > About Power PDF to confirm the version number is 5.0.0.17 or higher
  4. Exercise caution when opening TIF files from untrusted sources, as the vulnerability still requires user interaction to exploit

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

Fix this in Power Pdf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $5,940
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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-2024-27337 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