CVE-2018-17705
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 display property of CheckBox objects. 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-7255.
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 · moderate confidenceFoxit Reader 9.2.0.9297 contains a vulnerability in the handling of the display property of CheckBox objects where the application fails to validate object existence before performing operations, leading to use-after-free or similar memory corruption that allows remote code execution in the context of the current process. User interaction is required (opening a malicious PDF or visiting a malicious page).
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 the installed Foxit productOpen Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF and navigate to Help > About, or check Add/Remove Programs in Windows Control Panel to see which Foxit application is installedAffected if Either Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed
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Determine the exact installed version numberIn the About dialog, note the full version number displayed (format is X.X.X.xxxx). Alternatively, right-click the Foxit executable file, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the product versionAffected if The displayed version is 9.2.0.9297 or lower
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Compare against affected version rangeThe affected version range is any build at or below 9.2.0.9297. If your version matches exactly 9.2.0.9297 or is a lower build number (such as 9.2.0.9290, 9.1.0.xxxx, etc.), your version is within the vulnerable rangeAffected if Installed version is 9.2.0.9297 or any earlier version number
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Verify the CheckBox form field handling is in useThis vulnerability is triggered when opening PDF files that contain CheckBox form fields with manipulated display properties. If you regularly open PDF forms or documents from untrusted sources, the exploit condition is more likely to be encounteredAffected if The application processes PDF documents with CheckBox form field objects (common in fillable PDF forms)
If the installed Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF version is 9.2.0.9297 or any earlier version, the environment is vulnerable to this CVE.
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-provided security patch by updating Foxit Reader to a newer version. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources or visiting untrusted web pages that could deliver malicious PDFs.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17705 — 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-2018-17705 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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