Pdf ToolsApplication · Pdf Xchange

CVE-2024-8832

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
PDF-XChange Editor EMF File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information on affected installations of PDF-XChange Editor. 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 EMF 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-24317.

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

This is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in PDF-XChange Editor's EMF (Enhanced Metafile) file parser. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data during EMF parsing allows reading past the end of an allocated object, leading to sensitive information disclosure. While the primary impact is information disclosure, the advisory notes this can be chained with other vulnerabilities for arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUsers should avoid opening untrusted EMF files or visiting malicious pages until a vendor patch is available. Organizations should monitor for PDF-XChange Editor updates and apply them promptly.

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
Pdf ToolsApplication
Affected:= 10.3.0.386
Pdf Xchange EditorApplication
Affected:= 10.3.0.386

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. Check PDF-XChange Editor version
    Open PDF-XChange Editor, go to Help > About, or run: find / -name "PDFXCview.exe" -o -name "PDFXEdit.exe" 2>/dev/null and check file properties for version info
    Affected if Installed version equals 10.3.0.386
  2. Check PDF-XChange PDF Tools version
    Locate the installed PDF Tools components (common paths: C:\Program Files\PDF-XChange\PDF Tools\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\PDF-XChange\PDF Tools\) and check the version property of the executable DLLs
    Affected if Installed version equals 10.3.0.386
  3. Confirm EMF file handling capability
    Verify the application has the EMF parser module loaded by checking if the application can open or preview EMF files (Enhanced Metafile) - this is the parser containing the vulnerability
    Affected if The application can process EMF files and the version matches the affected version

A user is affected if PDF-XChange Editor or PDF-XChange PDF Tools version 10.3.0.386 is installed and the application can process EMF files, enabling the vulnerable parser to read out-of-bounds data.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Users should avoid opening untrusted EMF files or visiting malicious pages until a vendor patch is available. Organizations should monitor for PDF-XChange Editor updates and apply them promptly.

Fix this in Pdf Tools Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,440
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-8832 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-8832 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