Security Resilience

CVE-2023-42056

Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools 9.5.368.0

Published
03 May 2024
Modified
16 May 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.0046 39th percentile
Risk Priority 44 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-42056 is a medium-severity Use of Uninitialized Variable (CWE-457) vulnerability in Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked at the 39th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

PDF-XChange Editor U3D File Parsing Uninitialized Variable 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…

more

malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of U3D files. The issue results from the lack of proper initialization of memory prior to accessing it. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-20929.

CWE(s)
CWE-457CWE-908

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.001 Junk Data Command And Control
Adversaries may add junk data to protocols used for command and control to make detection more difficult.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003 OS Credential Dumping Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login and credential material, normally in the form of a hash or a clear text password.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.001 LSASS Memory Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credential material stored in the process memory of the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS).
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.008 /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump the contents of <code>/etc/passwd</code> and <code>/etc/shadow</code> to enable offline password cracking.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-8842Same product: Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools
CVE-2023-42062Same product: Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools
CVE-2023-42048Same product: Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools
CVE-2023-42046Same product: Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools
CVE-2023-42079Same product: Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools
CVE-2023-39484Same product: Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools
CVE-2024-8821Same product: Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools
CVE-2025-6640Same product: Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools
CVE-2023-40471Same product: Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools
CVE-2024-8816Same product: Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Tools

Affected Assets

pdf-xchange
pdf-tools
9.5.368.0
pdf-xchange
pdf-xchange editor
9.5.368.0

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and static analysis directly find uses of uninitialized variables before deployment.

SA-15 Development Process, Standards, and Tools partial match

Documented development standards and tools can enforce initialization requirements in code.

SA-8 Security and Privacy Engineering Principles partial match

Engineering principles can mandate explicit variable initialization to avoid uninitialized use.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly catch uninitialized-variable defects via static analysis and code review while the control encompasses many additional development controls.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References