CVE-2018-17693
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 conversion of HTML files to PDF. 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 object. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-7130.
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 an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Foxit PhantomPDF's HTML-to-PDF conversion feature. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data during HTML parsing allows an attacker to read past the end of an allocated memory buffer. This information disclosure can be leveraged alongside other techniques to achieve arbitrary 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
- 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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Identify installed Foxit productCheck for Foxit PhantomPDF or Foxit Reader installation by examining Program Files folder (C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\) or using 'wmic product where "name like 'Foxit%'" get name,version' in Command PromptAffected if Either Foxit PhantomPDF or Foxit Reader is present on the system
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Determine installed version numberRun 'wmic product where "name like 'Foxit%'" get name,version' or right-click the Foxit PDF executable in Program Files, select Properties, and check the Version tabAffected if Version displayed is 9.2.0.9297 or any version lower than 9.2.0.9297
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Verify HTML-to-PDF conversion availabilityOpen Foxit PhantomPDF or Reader, look for a 'Convert' or 'HTML to PDF' option in the File menu or toolbar, or check if the application can create PDFs from web pagesAffected if HTML-to-PDF conversion feature is present and accessible in the installed version
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Confirm vulnerability applicabilityThe vulnerability specifically affects the HTML-to-PDF conversion component. Determine if users in your environment have permission or reason to use this conversion feature with HTML filesAffected if Users can access and use HTML-to-PDF conversion with potentially untrusted HTML input
A system is affected if Foxit PhantomPDF or Reader version 9.2.0.9297 or lower is installed AND the HTML-to-PDF conversion feature is accessible to users who could be tricked into opening malicious HTML 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 dataApply the vendor-supplied patch or update Foxit PhantomPDF to a version that addresses this vulnerability. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted HTML files or visiting malicious web pages that could trigger the vulnerable conversion function.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17693 — 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-2018-17693 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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