CVE-2019-13315
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 atackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit Reader 9.5.0.20723. 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 removeField method. 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-8656.
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 a validation vulnerability in Foxit Reader's removeField method. The code fails to validate that an object exists before performing operations on it, leading to potential arbitrary code execution. An attacker can exploit this by tricking a user into opening a malicious PDF file or visiting a malicious webpage.
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<= 9.5.0.20723<= 8.3.10.42705>= 9.0, <= 9.5.0.20723CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 Foxit product installationCheck if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed by looking in Program Files for Foxit Software folder, or check Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for Foxit entriesAffected if Either Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed
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Determine installed Foxit Reader versionOpen Foxit Reader, go to Help > About Foxit Reader, or right-click the application in Start menu and select Properties to view version informationAffected if Version is 9.5.0.20723 or lower
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Determine installed PhantomPDF versionOpen PhantomPDF, go to Help > About Foxit PhantomPDF, or check the application properties to view version numberAffected if Version is 8.3.10.42705 or lower, OR version is 9.0 through 9.5.0.20723
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Verify the removeField method is accessibleThis is a JavaScript API method in PDF forms. Check if PDF forms with JavaScript actions can be processed by the installed Foxit applicationAffected if The application can open and process PDF files containing JavaScript form actions using the removeField method
The environment is affected if Foxit Reader version 9.5.0.20723 or lower, or PhantomPDF version 8.3.10.42705 or lower (or between 9.0 and 9.5.0.20723) is installed and the application processes untrusted PDF files.
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 to the latest patched version. Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and be cautious with links to malicious pages.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $3,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-13315 — 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-2019-13315 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