PhantompdfApplication · Foxitsoftware

CVE-2018-7407

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-05-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.0.1.1049 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 · unedited
An issue was discovered in Foxit Reader before 9.1 and PhantomPDF before 9.1. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code. 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 when rendering U3D images inside of pdf files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in a type confusion condition. An attacker can leverage this to execute code in 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 confidence

A type confusion vulnerability in Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF versions before 9.1 allows remote code execution via malicious U3D (3D) images embedded in PDF files. The lack of proper validation of user-supplied data during U3D image rendering enables an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user process.

MitigationUpdate to Foxit Reader 9.1 or PhantomPDF 9.1 or later. Until then, avoid opening untrusted PDF files and disable U3D content rendering if possible.

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
PhantompdfApplication
Affected:<= 9.0.1.1049
ReaderApplication
Affected:<= 9.0.1.1049

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Foxit product is installed
    Check if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed on the system by looking for the application in the Start Menu, Program Files directory, or Add/Remove Programs.
    Affected if Either Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is present on the system.
  2. Check installed version number
    Locate the Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF executable (typically in Program Files or Program Files (x86)) and view its version properties, or check the version shown in Add/Remove Programs.
    Affected if The installed version is 9.0.1.1049 or lower.
  3. Verify U3D rendering is enabled
    Open Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF, go to File > Preferences > 3D, or check the application settings for U3D/3D content rendering options.
    Affected if U3D content rendering is enabled (the vulnerability requires U3D images to be processed by the application).

A user is affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF version 9.0.1.1049 or lower is installed AND U3D content rendering is enabled, allowing malicious U3D images in PDF files to trigger the type confusion vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 9.0.1.1049
Interim mitigation

Update to Foxit Reader 9.1 or PhantomPDF 9.1 or later. Until then, avoid opening untrusted PDF files and disable U3D content rendering if possible.

Fix this in Phantompdf Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-7407 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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