CVE-2023-37356
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Kofax Power PDF allows attackers to read memory beyond allocated buffers when processing malicious GIF files, potentially disclosing sensitive information. Users who open malicious PDFs or visit malicious web pages containing these GIFs are affected. The vulnerability requires user interaction but could be combined with other exploits for code execution.
💻 Affected Systems
- Kofax Power PDF
📦 What is this software?
Power Pdf by Tungstenautomation
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Information disclosure combined with other vulnerabilities could lead to arbitrary code execution in the current process context, potentially compromising the entire system.
Likely Case
Information disclosure from process memory, potentially exposing sensitive data like credentials or document contents.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper security controls - information disclosure contained to non-sensitive memory regions.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires user interaction (opening malicious file/visiting malicious page) and additional vulnerabilities for code execution.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Not specified in provided references
Vendor Advisory: https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-23-951/
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check Kofax security advisories for specific patch version
2. Download and install the latest Power PDF update
3. Restart the application and any related services
4. Verify the update was successful
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable GIF processing
windowsConfigure Power PDF to not process GIF files or disable GIF support
Application control
windowsUse application whitelisting to prevent execution of Power PDF from untrusted locations
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict email/web filtering to block malicious GIF files
- Train users to avoid opening PDFs from untrusted sources and disable automatic file opening
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Power PDF version against Kofax security advisory for vulnerable versionsCheck Version:
In Power PDF: Help → About or check program properties in WindowsVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Power PDF version matches or exceeds patched version specified in Kofax advisory📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes or unexpected termination of Power PDF
- Memory access violation errors in application logs
- Unusual file processing activity
Network Indicators:
- Downloads of GIF files from suspicious sources followed by Power PDF execution
- Network traffic patterns indicating attempted exploitation
SIEM Query:
Process:PowerPDF.exe AND (EventID:1000 OR EventID:1001) AND ExceptionCode:c0000005