CVE-2018-17699
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 PDF files. 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 in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-7073.
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 Reader 9.2.0.9297's PDF processing engine. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data in malformed PDF files allows reading past the end of an allocated buffer, exposing sensitive information from memory. While user interaction is required (opening a malicious PDF or visiting a malicious page), when chained with other vulnerabilities it can lead to 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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Identify installed Foxit productCheck Program Files for Foxit Reader (Foxit Reader.exe) or PhantomPDF (PhantomPDF.exe) directories, or look for the application in Add/Remove ProgramsAffected if Either Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed on the system
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Determine installed versionOpen Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF, then go to Help > About to view the exact version number, or right-click the executable file and select Properties > Details to see the Product VersionAffected if Version displayed is 9.2.0.9297 or any earlier version (9.x versions up to and including 9.2.0.9297)
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Confirm vulnerability trigger conditionThe vulnerability requires opening a malformed or malicious PDF file - check if users routinely open PDF files from untrusted sourcesAffected if Users open PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources, which could trigger the out-of-bounds read during PDF parsing
The system is affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF version 9.2.0.9297 or any earlier 9.x version is installed and users open untrusted 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 dataUsers should avoid opening untrusted PDF files or visiting suspicious websites until Foxit releases an updated version. Organizations should inventory Foxit Reader installations and apply vendor patches promptly when available.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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-2018-17699 — 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-2018-17699 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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