dbcve.org
Power PdfApplication · Tungstenautomation

CVE-2024-27339

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 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-22925.

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

Out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Kofax Power PDF's PDF file parser. The flaw results from insufficient validation of user-supplied data during PDF parsing, allowing an attacker to write past the end of an allocated buffer and execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process via a malicious PDF file.

MitigationApply vendor patch from Kofax when available. Until then, train users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files and consider using alternative PDF viewers for high-risk documents.

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 Power PDF installation
    Locate Power PDF on the system via Add/Remove Programs on Windows or the Applications folder on macOS. Note the installation path for the next step.
    Affected if Power PDF is installed on the system
  2. Determine installed version
    Open Power PDF and navigate to Help > About to view the version number, or right-click the executable file in the installation folder and check Properties > Details for the version.
    Affected if Version cannot be confirmed or is below 5.0.0.17
  3. Compare to vulnerable version range
    If a version number is obtained, compare it against the affected range: any version lower than 5.0.0.17 is considered vulnerable.
    Affected if Installed version is lower than 5.0.0.17
  4. Evaluate PDF handling exposure
    Assess whether Power PDF is used to open PDF files from untrusted or external sources, as the vulnerability is triggered during PDF parsing when a user opens a malicious file.
    Affected if Users open untrusted PDF files using Power PDF

The environment is affected if Power PDF version is below 5.0.0.17 and users open PDF files with it, enabling the out-of-bounds write vulnerability to trigger during parsing.

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

Apply vendor patch from Kofax when available. Until then, train users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files and consider using alternative PDF viewers for high-risk documents.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Power PDF version 5.0.0.17 or later

  1. 1. Verify current Power PDF version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About or checking in the application settings
  2. 2. Download Power PDF version 5.0.0.17 or later from the official Kofax website or your organization's software distribution point
  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 is correctly installed by checking Help > About
  7. 7. Test that PDF files open correctly and the application functions normally
Caveat Review release notes for version 5.0.0.17 for any feature changes or migration considerations before upgrading in production environments

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,620
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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-2024-27339 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