CVE-2018-17617
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 onFocus 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-6335.
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 9.0.1.5096 during onFocus event handling. The application fails to validate object existence before performing operations, allowing remote code execution via malicious PDF files or web pages.
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<= 9.1.0.5096CVSS 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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Verify Foxit Reader installationCheck if Foxit Reader is installed on the system by searching program directories or querying the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for Foxit Reader entryAffected if Foxit Reader is found installed on the system
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Determine installed Foxit Reader versionOpen Foxit Reader and navigate to Help > About Foxit Reader to display the version number, or check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Foxitsoftware\Reader\CurrentVersion for the Version valueAffected if Version displayed is 9.1.0.5096 or lower, or version cannot be determined but Foxit Reader is present
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Compare version against affected rangeCompare the installed version number to the affected range: any version less than or equal to 9.1.0.5096 is within the vulnerable range per the CVE advisoryAffected if Installed version is less than or equal to 9.1.0.5096
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Assess exposure to malicious PDFsDetermine if the user regularly opens PDF files from untrusted sources or accesses PDF content via web browsers, as the exploit requires opening a malicious PDF or visiting a webpage containing malicious PDF contentAffected if User opens PDF files from untrusted sources and runs an affected Foxit Reader version
If Foxit Reader version is 9.1.0.5096 or lower and the user opens PDF files or views PDF content in browsers, the environment is affected by CVE-2018-17617.
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 vendor patch by upgrading Foxit Reader to the latest version; avoid opening untrusted PDF files or visiting malicious websites 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-2018-17617 — 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-2018-17617 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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