CVE-2022-42414: pdf-xchange pdf-xchange_editor Use After Free

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2022-42414 is a medium (CVSS 5.5) Use After Free vulnerability in pdf-xchange pdf-xchange_editor. EPSS estimates a 0.41% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 34.7% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 26-01-2023
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 01-04-2025
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

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 malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the parsing of PDF files. The issue results from the lack of validating the existence of an object prior to performing operations on the 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-18326.

• CWE-416Use After FreeThe product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.