CVE-2018-17676
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 removeField property of a app object. 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-6849.
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 confidenceA use-after-free/null pointer dereference vulnerability in Foxit Reader's app.removeField property handler fails to validate object existence before performing operations, allowing arbitrary code execution in the current process context via malicious PDF files.
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 installedOpen Windows Settings > Apps & Features, or check Program Files for Foxit Reader folder (typically C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader). On Linux/Mac, check /Applications or equivalent.Affected if Foxit Reader is present on the system
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Check if Foxit PhantomPDF is installedOpen Windows Settings > Apps & Features, or check Program Files for Foxit PhantomPDF folder (typically C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit PhantomPDF).Affected if Foxit PhantomPDF is present on the system
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Determine installed version numberOpen Foxit Reader/PhantomPDF, go to Help > About Foxit Reader (or About PhantomPDF), or right-click the executable in Program Files and select Properties > Details to view the File Version.Affected if Version displayed is 9.2.0.9297 or earlier (any version <= 9.2.0.9297)
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Identify if app.removeField feature is accessibleThe vulnerability exploits the app.removeField JavaScript property handler. This is used when processing PDF forms. Check if PDF form functionality is enabled in the application (File > Preferences > JavaScript > Enable Adobe JavaScript).Affected if JavaScript/PDF forms are enabled in the Foxit application settings
You are affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF version 9.2.0.9297 or earlier is installed and JavaScript/PDF forms are enabled, as the app.removeField handler in those versions fails to validate object existence before performing operations.
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 version that includes the fix for ZDI-CAN-6849; avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources until patched.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17676 — 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-2018-17676 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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