CVE-2019-13318
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 disclose sensitive information 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 processing of the util.printf Javascript method. The application processes the %p parameter in the format string, allowing heap addresses to be returned to the script. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-8544.
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 confidenceFoxit Reader 9.5.0.20723 contains a flaw in the util.printf JavaScript method where the %p format specifier improperly returns heap addresses to the script, enabling information disclosure that can be chained with other vulnerabilities for code execution.
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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 installed Foxit productOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or use PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*Foxit*'} | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersionAffected if Neither Foxit Reader nor Foxit PhantomPDF is installed, then not affected
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Check installed version against affected rangesNote the version from the previous step. For Foxit Reader, affected if version <= 9.5.0.20723. For PhantomPDF, affected if version <= 8.3.10.42705 OR (version >= 9.0 AND version <= 9.5.0.20723)Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected ranges listed, indicating potential vulnerability
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Verify JavaScript is enabled in FoxitOpen Foxit Reader/PhantomPDF, go to File > Preferences > JavaScript. Check if JavaScript is enabled. Alternatively, check the registry key: HKCU\Software\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\Preferences\JavaScript (or similarly for PhantomPDF)Affected if JavaScript is enabled - the vulnerability only applies when JavaScript execution is permitted within PDFs
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Check for recent PDF files with embedded JavaScriptReview recently opened PDF files. In Foxit, go to File > Properties > JavaScript to see if JavaScript is embedded in any PDFs. Suspicious PDFs from untrusted sources may contain malicious util.printf callsAffected if JavaScript-enabled PDFs from untrusted sources have been opened, as the %p format specifier can leak heap addresses through the util.printf method
If Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed with a version in the affected range AND JavaScript is enabled in the application, the environment is potentially affected by this information disclosure vulnerability.
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 dataUsers should avoid opening untrusted PDF files and JavaScript-enabled PDFs should be disabled or restricted where possible until the vendor patch is applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-13318 — 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-2019-13318 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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