CVE-2017-12892
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 · uneditedFoxit PDF Compressor installers from versions from 7.0.0.183 to 7.7.2.10 contain a DLL preloading vulnerability, wherein it is possible for the installer to load a malicious DLL located in the current working directory of the installer.
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 confidenceThe Foxit PDF Compressor installer (versions 7.0.0.183 to 7.7.2.10) is vulnerable to DLL preloading/hijacking. The installer attempts to load dynamic link libraries without specifying full absolute paths, allowing an attacker to place a malicious DLL with a matching name in the same directory as the installer. When a user runs the installer from a directory containing this malicious DLL, the installer will load the attacker's code instead of the legitimate library.
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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/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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Locate the Foxit PDF Compressor installer executableSearch the system for the installer file named 'FXPDFCompressor.exe' or similar installer files from Foxit. Check common locations: Downloads folder, Desktop, Program Files folders, and installation media directories.Affected if The installer executable exists on the system and is located in a directory where untrusted files could be present (e.g., Downloads folder)
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Determine the installer versionRight-click the installer executable, select Properties, and view the 'Details' tab to find the File Version. Compare this version number to the affected range: 7.0.0.183 through 7.7.2.10.Affected if The installer version falls within 7.0.0.183 to 7.7.2.10
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Inspect the directory containing the installerCheck the full path of the directory where the installer is stored. Look for any unexpected DLL files in that same directory that could be malicious.Affected if The installer is stored in a directory with write access for untrusted users or contains unexpected DLL files alongside the installer
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Verify DLL search order vulnerabilityThis vulnerability allows the installer to load DLLs from its own directory without using full paths. No direct system check exists; this is confirmed by running the installer from a directory containing a test DLL and observing if it attempts to load it.Affected if The installer can be executed from a directory containing a specially crafted DLL, and that DLL gets loaded instead of the legitimate system DLL
A user is affected if they have the Foxit PDF Compressor installer (versions 7.0.0.183-7.7.2.10) present on their system, particularly if stored or run from directories like Downloads where untrusted DLL files may exist alongside it.
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 dataUsers should run the installer from a clean, trusted directory and avoid executing it from locations where untrusted files may be present (e.g., internet download folders). The vendor should patch the installer to use secure DLL loading practices, including explicit full paths and manifest-based binding.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-12892 — 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-2017-12892 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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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