CVE-2018-17639
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 9.2.0.9297. 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 the setElement method. 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-6475.
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 · moderate confidenceThis is a use-after-free type vulnerability in Foxit Reader 9.2.0.9297 where the setElement method fails to validate object existence before performing operations on it. An attacker can exploit this by crafting a malicious PDF file that, when opened by a victim, allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process. User interaction is required (opening a malicious file or visiting a malicious page).
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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Check if Foxit Reader is installedNavigate to C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\ and verify the folder exists, or check Add/Remove Programs for Foxit Reader entryAffected if Foxit Reader is found installed on the system
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Find installed Foxit Reader versionRight-click on Foxit Reader.exe in the installation folder, select Properties, then go to the Details tab and note the Product Version fieldAffected if The version shown is 9.2.0.9297 or lower
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Check if PhantomPDF is installedNavigate to C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\PhantomPDF\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\PhantomPDF\ and verify the folder exists, or check Add/Remove Programs for PhantomPDF entryAffected if PhantomPDF is found installed on the system
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Find installed PhantomPDF versionRight-click on PhantomPDF.exe in the installation folder, select Properties, then go to the Details tab and note the Product Version fieldAffected if The version shown is 9.2.0.9297 or lower
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Compare version to affected rangeIf either product is installed, verify that the exact version number is less than or equal to 9.2.0.9297 using the version from the Details tabAffected if The installed version of Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is 9.2.0.9297 or any version lower than 9.2.0.9297
If Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed with a version at or below 9.2.0.9297, the environment is affected by this CVE.
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 patch for Foxit Reader to the latest version and exercise caution when opening PDF files from untrusted sources, as user interaction is required for exploitation.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $1,936.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17639 — 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-2018-17639 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
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