CVE-2016-4059
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 · uneditedUse-after-free vulnerability in Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF before 7.3.4 on Windows allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted FlateDecode stream in a 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 · high confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF versions before 7.3.4 on Windows allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF document containing a malicious FlateDecode stream. The vulnerability occurs when the application attempts to use memory that has already been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to control execution flow.
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 data<= 7.3.0.118<= 7.3.0.118CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
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Identify installed Foxit productsCheck Windows Add/Remove Programs or look for Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF executables in Program Files folders. Common paths: C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\FoxitReader.exe or C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\PhantomPDF\PhantomPDF.exeAffected if Either Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed on the system
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Determine Foxit Reader versionRight-click the FoxitReader.exe file, select Properties, and view the Details tab for the Product Version field. Alternatively, open Foxit Reader and go to Help > About Foxit Reader to display the version numberAffected if The displayed version is 7.3.0.118 or any earlier version (versions before 7.3.4)
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Determine PhantomPDF versionRight-click the PhantomPDF.exe file, select Properties, and view the Details tab for the Product Version field. Alternatively, open PhantomPDF and go to Help > About PhantomPDF to display the version numberAffected if The displayed version is 7.3.0.118 or any earlier version (versions before 7.3.4)
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Verify FlateDecode handling exposureThe vulnerability triggers when opening a PDF containing a malicious FlateDecode stream. No specific configuration check is required - the flaw exists in the affected versions regardless of settingsAffected if The installed version falls within the affected range AND the user opens PDF documents (the attack vector requires processing a crafted PDF)
A user is affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF version 7.3.0.118 or earlier is installed and the application is used to open PDF documents.
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 dataUpdate Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF to version 7.3.4 or later. Additionally, avoid opening untrusted PDF documents from unknown or unverified sources until the update is applied.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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 $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-4059 — 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-2016-4059 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
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- 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
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