Power PdfApplication · Tungstenautomation

CVE-2024-9746

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.1 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
Tungsten Automation Power PDF TGA File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Tungsten Automation 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 TGA 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-24462.

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

Tungsten Automation Power PDF contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in its TGA image file parser due to insufficient validation of user-supplied data. The parser fails to properly check buffer bounds before writing data, allowing an attacker to write past the end of an allocated buffer. By tricking a user into opening a specially crafted malicious TGA file, an attacker can achieve remote code execution in the context of the current process.

MitigationAvoid opening untrusted TGA files from unknown sources. Deploy email gateway filtering and endpoint protection to block malicious file attachments. Apply vendor patches when available. Consider disabling or restricting TGA file handling if not required in the environment.

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:< 5.1

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 installed Power PDF version
    Locate the Tungsten Automation Power PDF installation and check its version number (typically available in the application's About dialog, installed programs list, or product documentation).
    Affected if The installed version is earlier than 5.1 (any version < 5.1 indicates the vulnerability is present).
  2. Determine if TGA file handling is in use
    Review whether users in your environment open or process TGA image files through Power PDF, or check application settings for enabled image parsers.
    Affected if TGA file processing is enabled and users routinely open TGA images - this confirms the attack surface exists.
  3. Check for recent TGA file processing activity
    Examine application logs, recent documents, or endpoint detection for evidence of TGA file handling.
    Affected if TGA files have been opened or parsed by Power PDF - this indicates potential exposure to the vulnerability.

You are affected if Tungsten Automation Power PDF version is less than 5.1 AND TGA image files can be processed or opened within the application.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.1 or later
Fixed in 5.1
Interim mitigation

Avoid opening untrusted TGA files from unknown sources. Deploy email gateway filtering and endpoint protection to block malicious file attachments. Apply vendor patches when available. Consider disabling or restricting TGA file handling if not required in the environment.

Fix this in Power Pdf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2024-9746 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