CVE-2011-4218
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedInvestintech.com SlimPDF Reader does not prevent faulting-instruction data from affecting write operations, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF document.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceSlimPDF Reader fails to properly validate or constrain instruction data during PDF parsing, allowing specially crafted PDF content to trigger memory corruption. This enables an attacker to potentially overwrite memory regions through malformed instructions, leading to denial of service or arbitrary code execution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check if SlimPDF Reader is installedLook for SlimPDF Reader in the system: navigate to C:\Program Files\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\ and check for a folder named 'SlimPDF Reader' or 'SlimPDF'. Also check Start Menu for SlimPDF Reader shortcuts.Affected if SlimPDF Reader folder or executable exists on the system
-
Identify the installed version of SlimPDF ReaderRight-click on the SlimPDF Reader executable (usually slimpdf.exe) in the installation folder, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the File Version or Product Version.Affected if Any version number is displayed, confirming SlimPDF Reader is installed (all versions are affected)
-
Verify the executable is the genuine Investintech productCheck the file properties: verify the Company Name field shows 'Investintech.com Inc.' or similar Investintech branding, and confirm the executable name is 'slimpdf.exe' or similar.Affected if The executable is confirmed to be the Investintech SlimPDF Reader application
-
Check if SlimPDF Reader is set as default PDF handlerGo to Settings > Apps > Default apps > Choose default apps by file type and look for .pdf association, or check if SlimPDF Reader appears in 'Set defaults by app' section.Affected if SlimPDF Reader is set as the default PDF handler, increasing exposure to malicious PDFs
If SlimPDF Reader by Investintech is present on the system in any version, the environment is affected by CVE-2011-2018 since all versions are vulnerable.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply any available vendor patches for SlimPDF Reader; if no patch exists, migrate to an actively maintained PDF reader with regular security updates and disable or remove SlimPDF Reader from systems.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-4218 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-4218 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data