CVE-2018-17649
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 setAttribute method of a TimeField. 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-6486.
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 validation bypass vulnerability in Foxit Reader's TimeField setAttribute method. The code fails to validate object existence before performing operations on it, allowing an attacker who tricks a user into opening a malicious PDF to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process.
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 Foxit Reader versionOpen Foxit Reader, go to Help > About, or check Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Foxitsoftware\Foxit Reader\CurrentVersion to find the installed version numberAffected if The version is 9.2.0.9297 or lower
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Check PhantomPDF version if installedOpen PhantomPDF, go to Help > About, or check Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Foxitsoftware\PhantomPDF\CurrentVersion to find the installed version numberAffected if The version is 9.2.0.9297 or lower and PhantomPDF is installed instead of Reader
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Verify JavaScript execution statusIn Foxit Reader, navigate to File > Preferences > JavaScript and check if Enable JavaScript is checked or enabledAffected if JavaScript is enabled - the exploit requires JavaScript to be active to trigger the TimeField vulnerability
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Confirm TimeField usage in documentsThis vulnerability affects the TimeField object setAttribute method specifically - check if you work with PDF forms that may contain time field elementsAffected if You open or process PDF documents containing form fields, particularly TimeField objects, from untrusted sources
You are affected if you have Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF version 9.2.0.9297 or lower AND JavaScript execution is enabled in the application settings.
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-supplied patch by updating Foxit Reader to the latest version; until then, disable JavaScript execution in Foxit settings and avoid opening untrusted PDF files.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17649 — 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-2018-17649 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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