CVE-2018-17706
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 Phantom PDF 9.1.5096. 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 fxhtml2pdf. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a memory access past the end of an allocated buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code under the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-6230.
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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability in Foxit PhantomPDF's fxhtml2pdf component allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malicious page or file. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data causes memory access past the end of an allocated buffer, enabling code execution under 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<= 9.1.0.5096CVSS 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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Check if Foxit PhantomPDF is installedLook for Foxit PhantomPDF in the Windows Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl), or check for installation directory at C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit PhantomPDF\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\Foxit PhantomPDF\Affected if Foxit PhantomPDF is present on the system
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Identify the installed PhantomPDF versionOpen the application and go to Help > About Foxit PhantomPDF, or check the version in the Windows Programs and Features list, or examine the executable properties at the installation path for phantompdf.exeAffected if The displayed version number is 9.1.0.5096 or earlier (any version <= 9.1.0.5096)
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Verify the fxhtml2pdf component existsCheck for the presence of fxhtml2pdf.dll or related HTML conversion modules in the Foxit PhantomPDF installation directory (typically in the app or plugins subfolder)Affected if The fxhtml2pdf component is present in the installation directory
If Foxit PhantomPDF is installed with a version <= 9.1.0.5096 and the fxhtml2pdf component is present, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2018-17706.
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 patch from Foxit to update PhantomPDF to a patched version, and avoid opening untrusted PDF or HTML files from unknown sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-17706 — 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-2018-17706 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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