CVE-2018-20249
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 · uneditedIn Foxit Quick PDF Library (all versions prior to 16.12), issue where loading a malformed or malicious PDF containing invalid xref entries using the DAOpenFile or DAOpenFileReadOnly functions may result in an access violation caused by out of bounds memory access.
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 confidenceOut-of-bounds memory access vulnerability in Foxit Quick PDF Library's DAOpenFile and DAOpenFileReadOnly functions when parsing malformed PDFs with invalid xref (cross-reference) table entries, leading to an access violation.
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< 16.12CVSS 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 Quick PDF Library installationCheck for presence of Foxit Quick PDF Library in the system - look for associated DLLs (e.g., FoxitQuickPDFLibrary.dll) or check installed programs list for 'Foxit Quick PDF Library' or 'Foxitsoftware Quick Pdf Library'Affected if Foxit Quick PDF Library is installed on the system
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Identify installed versionCheck the version of Foxit Quick PDF Library - this is typically found in the DLL properties, registry keys under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Foxitsoftware\Quick Pdf Library, or through the application's version informationAffected if The version cannot be determined or is older than documented versions
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Compare against vulnerable version rangeCompare your installed version number to the affected range: any version below 16.12 is vulnerable. Check version in format like 16.11, 16.10, 15.x, etc.Affected if Installed version is lower than 16.12 (e.g., 16.11, 16.0, 15.5, etc.)
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Check PDF processing exposureDetermine if the DAOpenFile or DAOpenFileReadOnly functions are used to process PDF files - review application code or logs that handle PDF parsing with these Foxit functionsAffected if The application uses DAOpenFile or DAOpenFileReadOnly functions to open PDFs, especially from untrusted sources
If Foxit Quick PDF Library is installed with a version below 16.12 AND the DAOpenFile or DAOpenFileReadOnly functions are used to process PDF files (particularly from untrusted sources), the environment is affected by CVE-2018-20249.
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 data16.12
Upgrade to Foxit Quick PDF Library version 16.12 or later; implement file validation and sandboxing for PDF processing to mitigate risks from malformed files.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-20249 — 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-2018-20249 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data