dbcve.org
Power PdfApplication · Tungstenautomation

CVE-2024-5305

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.0.0.18 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 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 PDF 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-22921.

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

Kofax Power PDF contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in its PDF file parsing component. The flaw occurs due to insufficient validation of user-supplied data length before copying to a fixed-size stack buffer, allowing remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process via malicious PDF files.

MitigationApply the vendor-released patch for CVE-2024-5305 to Kofax Power PDF installations. Until the patch is available, instruct users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.

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:< 5.0.0.18

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. Locate Kofax Power PDF installation
    Check common installation directories (C:\Program Files\Kofax\Power PDF, C:\Program Files (x86)\Kofax\Power PDF) or search for executable files named 'Power PDF.exe' using dir /s command or Windows Search
    Affected if The product is not installed in the expected locations or the executable is missing
  2. Identify installed version via executable properties
    Right-click on Power PDF.exe, select Properties, then view the Details tab to see the Product Version field; alternatively run 'powershell (Get-Item "C:\Program Files\Kofax\Power PDF\Power PDF.exe").VersionInfo'
    Affected if The displayed version number is less than 5.0.0.18 (e.g., 5.0.0.17, 5.0.0.0, or any 4.x version)
  3. Check Windows Registry for version
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Kofax\Power PDF or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Kofax\Power PDF, then look for a Version or DisplayVersion string value
    Affected if The registry version value is less than 5.0.0.18
  4. Verify PDF parsing functionality is present
    Confirm the Power PDF application and its PDF parsing component are present and functional - attempt to open the application or check for PDF-related DLL files in the installation directory (e.g., PdfParser.dll, PDFCore.dll)
    Affected if The PDF parsing component exists and is executable (this is the vulnerable component)
  5. Confirm no emergency workarounds are in place
    Check if the application is run from a restricted sandbox, has software-based execution restrictions, or if enterprise policies block PDF files from untrusted sources
    Affected if No additional runtime protections are actively mitigating the risk of opening malicious PDFs

A system is affected if Kofax Power PDF is installed with any version prior to 5.0.0.18 and the PDF parsing component is functional, as the buffer overflow can be triggered by opening a specially crafted malicious PDF file.

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 5.0.0.18 or later
Fixed in 5.0.0.18
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-released patch for CVE-2024-5305 to Kofax Power PDF installations. Until the patch is available, instruct users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Power PDF version 5.0.0.18 or later

  1. 1. Open Power PDF application
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > About Power PDF to check the current version number
  3. 3. If the version is below 5.0.0.18, download the latest version of Power PDF from the official Kofax website or your organization's software distribution center
  4. 4. Close all instances of Power PDF
  5. 5. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to upgrade
  6. 6. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About Power PDF confirms version 5.0.0.18 or higher
  7. 7. Test that PDF files open and function normally

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

Fix this in Power Pdf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,320
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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-2024-5305 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