CVE-2024-9752 in Power PDF
Summary
by MITRE • 11/23/2024
Tungsten Automation Power PDF JPG File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information 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 JPG 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-24469.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/09/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical information disclosure flaw within Tungsten Automation Power PDF's handling of JPG file parsing operations. The issue manifests as an out-of-bounds read condition that occurs when the software processes maliciously crafted image files, specifically those in JPG format. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data during the parsing phase. According to ZDI-CAN-24469, this weakness allows remote attackers to extract sensitive information from memory locations beyond the intended data boundaries, potentially exposing confidential system details or application state information.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the software's failure to validate array bounds when processing JPG file metadata and image data structures. When a malicious JPG file is encountered during parsing operations, the application attempts to read memory locations that extend beyond the allocated buffer space for the image data. This improper memory access pattern creates opportunities for attackers to gather information about the application's internal state, memory layout, or potentially sensitive data that may be stored adjacent to the parsed image buffers. The vulnerability operates at the level of memory management and data parsing within the PDF processing framework, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited through web-based attacks.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability requires user interaction to achieve exploitation, meaning that victims must either visit a malicious webpage containing crafted JPG content or open a specially prepared file. However, this requirement does not diminish the severity of the threat since modern attack vectors often involve social engineering techniques that can successfully trick users into interacting with malicious content. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure, as attackers can potentially leverage this vulnerability in combination with other exploits to achieve arbitrary code execution within the context of the running Power PDF process. This creates a potential pathway for full system compromise when combined with additional attack primitives or when the target application has elevated privileges.
The vulnerability aligns with common weakness enumerations such as CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions in software applications. From an attack framework perspective, this flaw could map to multiple ATT&CK techniques including initial access through malicious files and execution through process injection or code execution within application contexts. Organizations should consider implementing immediate mitigations such as restricting user access to potentially malicious file types, deploying web application firewalls to filter suspicious content, and ensuring that all system components are updated with the latest security patches from Tungsten Automation. Additionally, network monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual patterns of data access or memory read operations that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the importance of robust input validation and proper memory management practices in preventing such security flaws from being exploited in real-world scenarios.