CVE-2018-17690
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 PhantomPDF 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 rect property of a Link 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-7103.
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 or null pointer dereference vulnerability in Foxit PhantomPDF 9.2.0.9297 where the software fails to validate object existence before performing operations on the rect property of a Link object, allowing arbitrary code execution in the current process context.
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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Verify Foxit product is installedCheck for Foxit PhantomPDF or Foxit Reader in the system: Look in C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\ for the application folder, or check Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries containing 'Foxit PhantomPDF' or 'Foxit Reader'.Affected if Either Foxit PhantomPDF or Foxit Reader is found on the system.
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Identify installed versionRight-click the Foxit PDFReader.exe or PhantomPDF.exe file in the installation folder, select Properties, then check the Details tab for the Product Version field. Alternatively, query the registry key: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\Foxit PhantomPDF\Version or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\Version (or under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\ for 32-bit installs on 64-bit systems).Affected if Unable to determine version - version remains unknown.
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Compare against affected version rangeParse the installed version number (e.g., 9.2.0.9297) and compare numerically against 9.2.0.9297. Any version ≤ 9.2.0.9297 is within the affected range.Affected if The installed version is 9.2.0.9297 or any earlier version (e.g., 9.1.0.x, 8.x, etc.).
If Foxit PhantomPDF or Reader version is 9.2.0.9297 or lower, the environment is vulnerable to this use-after-free flaw when processing malicious PDF files.
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 PhantomPDF to the latest patched version; avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.
- 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-2018-17690 — 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-2018-17690 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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