CVE-2018-17616
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 9.0.1.5096. 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 handling of onBlur events. 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 vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-6334.
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 confidenceFoxit Reader 9.0.1.5096 contains a use-after-free or null pointer dereference vulnerability in its onBlur event handler. The application fails to validate object existence before performing operations, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via malicious PDF files or web pages requiring user interaction.
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<= 9.2.0.9297<= 9.2.0.9297CVSS 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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Identify if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installedOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell to list installed softwareAffected if Foxit Reader or Foxitsoftware PhantomPDF appears in the installed programs list
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Determine the exact version of Foxit ReaderOpen Foxit Reader, click Help > About Foxit Reader, or right-click the desktop shortcut and select Properties to view the version numberAffected if The version displayed is 9.0.1.5096 or any version up to and including 9.2.0.9297
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Determine the exact version of Foxit PhantomPDFOpen PhantomPDF, click Help > About Foxit PhantomPDF, or check the application's Properties window to view the version numberAffected if The version displayed is any version up to and including 9.2.0.9297
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Compare your installed version to the affected rangeIf you identified Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF, compare your exact version number (for example, 9.0.1.5096, 9.1.0.1234, 9.2.0.9297) against the affected range of any version <= 9.2.0.9297Affected if Your installed version is 9.2.0.9297 or lower, or if you cannot confirm a version higher than 9.2.0.9297 is installed
You are affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed with any version <= 9.2.0.9297, as the onBlur event handler vulnerability exists in that range.
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 the vendor-supplied Foxit Reader security update/patch to remediate the vulnerability; users should avoid opening untrusted PDF files or visiting suspicious webpages until patched.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17616 — 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-2018-17616 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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