CVE-2022-30350
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2022-30350 is an information disclosure vulnerability in Avanquest Software RAD PDF (PDFEscape Online) where the 'white out' redaction feature fails to properly remove underlying content from PDF documents. This allows users to copy-paste supposedly redacted text using standard PDF readers. Organizations and individuals using PDFEscape Online for document redaction are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Avanquest Software RAD PDF (PDFEscape Online)
📦 What is this software?
Pdfescape by Avanquest
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Sensitive information (legal documents, financial records, personal data) that was believed to be redacted becomes fully accessible, leading to data breaches, regulatory violations, and reputational damage.
Likely Case
Users inadvertently expose confidential information by relying on the flawed redaction feature, with the redacted content being extractable by recipients using common PDF software.
If Mitigated
If proper document security controls are implemented (like proper redaction tools or encryption), the impact is limited to users who exclusively rely on PDFEscape Online's redaction feature.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires a user to create a redacted PDF using the vulnerable tool, then any recipient can extract the redacted content using standard PDF software like Adobe Reader by simply copy-pasting. The arXiv paper provides technical details.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: No vendor advisory found
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Check for updates from Avanquest Software. 2. If an updated version is available, install it. 3. Recreate any redacted PDFs using the patched version.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Use alternative redaction tools
allReplace PDFEscape Online with properly validated PDF redaction software that permanently removes content.
Convert redacted PDFs to images
allAfter redaction in PDFEscape Online, convert the PDF to an image format (like PNG) to prevent text extraction.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Immediately stop using PDFEscape Online for redacting sensitive documents
- Audit and re-redact any previously redacted PDFs using secure methods
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Create a test PDF with text, use PDFEscape Online's 'white out' feature to redact it, then try to copy-paste the redacted area in Adobe Reader or similar. If text is copied, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
For web version: check the website footer. For desktop: check Help > About or program properties.Verify Fix Applied:
Repeat the vulnerable check with the updated version. If redacted text cannot be copied, the fix is effective.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- No specific log indicators as this is a client-side tool vulnerability
Network Indicators:
- No network-based detection as exploitation occurs locally
SIEM Query:
Not applicable for this client-side vulnerability