CVE-2018-17686
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 disclose sensitive information 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 processing of BMP images. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a read past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-6844.
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 confidenceThis is a buffer over-read vulnerability in Foxit Reader 9.2.0.9297's BMP image parsing. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data during BMP image processing allows reading past the end of an allocated buffer, potentially exposing sensitive information and enabling code execution 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 Foxit Reader, or right-click the application in the Start menu and select Properties to view the version numberAffected if The version listed is 9.2.0.9297 or any version lower than 9.2.0.9297
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Check Foxit PhantomPDF versionOpen PhantomPDF, go to Help > About PhantomPDF, or right-click the application in the Start menu and select Properties to view the version numberAffected if PhantomPDF is installed and the version is 9.2.0.9297 or lower
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Confirm BMP image parsing is presentVerify the application has BMP file handling capability by opening a PDF and attempting to insert or view a BMP image, or check the plugins folder for image-related componentsAffected if BMP image processing features are available in the installed Foxit product (default behavior)
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Locate vulnerable BMP parsing componentSearch for the image conversion plugin in the Foxit install directory, typically in a folder named 'plugins' or 'plugins\Images', where the BMP parsing handler residesAffected if The BMP parsing component exists in the Foxit installation directory
You are affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed with any version at or below 9.2.0.9297 and BMP image processing features are available, which is the default state.
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 the latest version; avoid opening untrusted BMP files or visiting untrusted pages that could deliver maliciously crafted BMP images.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,200.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17686 — 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-2018-17686 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data