CVE-2018-14253
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 · uneditedThis vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Foxit Reader 9.0.1.1049. 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 getIcon method. By performing actions in JavaScript, an attacker can trigger a type confusion condition. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code under the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-6016.
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 confidenceType confusion vulnerability in Foxit Reader 9.0.1.1049's getIcon method allows remote code execution via malicious JavaScript. Exploitation requires user to open a malicious PDF file or visit a malicious webpage.
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<= 9.1.0.5096<= 9.1.0.5096CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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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Check if Foxit Reader is installedOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader for the installation directoryAffected if Foxit Reader is present on the system
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Determine installed Foxit Reader versionRight-click on Foxit Reader.exe, select Properties, go to Details tab and view Product Version. Alternatively, open Foxit Reader and go to Help > About Foxit ReaderAffected if Version is 9.1.0.5096 or earlier (any version <= 9.1.0.5096)
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Check for PhantomPDF installationOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\PhantomPDF for the installation directoryAffected if PhantomPDF is present on the system
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Determine installed PhantomPDF versionRight-click on PhantomPDF.exe, select Properties, go to Details tab and view Product Version. Alternatively, open PhantomPDF and go to Help > About PhantomPDFAffected if PhantomPDF version is 9.1.0.5096 or earlier
User is affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed with any version <= 9.1.0.5096, as the vulnerability exists in the getIcon method of those versions and can be triggered by opening a malicious PDF file.
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 to a patched version that addresses this vulnerability. Avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-14253 — 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-2018-14253 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