CVE-2018-5675
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 before 9.1 and PhantomPDF before 9.1. 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 specially crafted pdf files with embedded u3d images. Crafted data in the PDF file can trigger an out-of-bounds write on a buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code under the context of the current process.
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 write vulnerability in Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF versions before 9.1. The flaw is triggered when processing specially crafted PDF files containing embedded U3D (3D) images, allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code under the context of the current user 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<= 9.0.1.1049<= 9.0.1.1049CVSS 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 product is installedCheck for Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF in installed programs. On Windows, open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*Foxit*'}Affected if Neither Foxit Reader nor PhantomPDF is found on the system, so the CVE does not apply
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Identify the exact version numberIn Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF, go to Help > About Foxit Reader (or About PhantomPDF). Alternatively, right-click the desktop shortcut, select Properties, and check the version in the Details tab.Affected if Unable to determine the version number, making it impossible to confirm vulnerability status
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Compare version against affected rangeCompare the installed version to the affected range: versions 9.0.1.1049 and earlier are vulnerable. Version 9.1 and later are patched.Affected if Installed version is 9.0.1.1049 or lower (for either Reader or PhantomPDF)
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Check if U3D (3D) content handling is enabledIn Foxit Reader/PhantomPDF, go to File > Preferences > 3D. Verify if the U3D/3D plugin or feature is loaded and enabled for processing embedded 3D content in PDFs.Affected if U3D/3D support is enabled and the installed version is within the affected range (the vulnerability triggers when processing PDFs with embedded U3D images)
A user is affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF version 9.0.1.1049 or lower is installed AND U3D/3D content processing is enabled, allowing specially crafted PDFs with embedded U3D images to trigger the out-of-bounds write.
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 dataUpgrade Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF to version 9.1 or later. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted PDF files or visiting malicious websites that could deliver specially crafted PDFs.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5675 — 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-2018-5675 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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