CVE-2024-8844
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 · uneditedPDF-XChange Editor PDF 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 PDF 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-24550.
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 confidenceOut-of-bounds read vulnerability in PDF-XChange Editor's PDF parsing engine. The flaw results from insufficient validation of user-supplied data during PDF file parsing, allowing a read past the end of an allocated memory object. This can leak sensitive information from process memory and can be chained with other vulnerabilities for 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>= 10.3.0.386, < 10.4.0.388>= 10.3.0.386, < 10.4.0.388CVSS 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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Check PDF-XChange Editor versionOpen PDF-XChange Editor, go to Help > About, or right-click the executable (PDFXCview.exe) and select Properties > Details to view the File VersionAffected if Version is 10.3.0.386 through 10.4.0.387 (>= 10.3.0.386 and < 10.4.0.388)
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Check PDF-XChange PDF Tools versionLocate the installed PDF Tools components (typically in Program Files), right-click on the main executable or DLL and select Properties > Details to view the File VersionAffected if Version is 10.3.0.386 through 10.4.0.387 (>= 10.3.0.386 and < 10.4.0.388)
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Check Windows installed programs listOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for 'PDF-XChange Editor' or 'PDF-XChange PDF Tools' in the list and note the version columnAffected if Installed version shown as 10.3.0.386 through 10.4.0.387
A user is affected if PDF-XChange Editor or PDF-XChange PDF Tools is installed with a version between 10.3.0.386 and 10.4.0.387 inclusive.
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 · scoped10.4.0.388
Apply vendor patch/update to PDF-XChange Editor. Avoid opening untrusted PDF files and implement least-privilege execution policies to limit impact of potential exploitation chains.
Upgrade to PDF-XChange Editor version 10.4.0.388 or later, and Pdf Tools version 10.4.0.388 or later
- Close PDF-XChange Editor or Pdf Tools if currently running
- Navigate to the official PDF-XChange website or trusted download source to obtain version 10.4.0.388 or later
- Download the installer for the latest version of PDF-XChange Editor (or Pdf Tools)
- Run the downloaded installer executable
- Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
- Restart the application after installation completes
- Verify the installed version is 10.4.0.388 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-8844 — 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-2024-8844 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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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.
- 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