CVE-2019-20826
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Foxit PhantomPDF Mac 3.3 and Foxit Reader for Mac before 3.3. It has a NULL pointer dereference.
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 · moderate confidenceA NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in Foxit PhantomPDF and Foxit Reader for Mac versions before 3.3. The vulnerability can be triggered when processing a specially crafted PDF file, potentially leading to application crash (denial of service) or possibly arbitrary 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< 3.3< 3.3CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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.
-
Identify installed Foxit productCheck Applications folder or use system_profiler SPApplicationsDataType to list installed Foxit software. Look for 'Foxit Reader.app' or 'Foxit PhantomPDF.app'.Affected if Either Foxit Reader or Foxit PhantomPDF for Mac is installed
-
Determine installed version numberRight-click the Foxit app in Applications, select 'Get Info', or run: defaults read /Applications/Foxiname.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionStringAffected if Version number cannot be determined or is below 3.3
-
Compare version against affected rangeCompare the installed version to the affected range: versions less than 3.3 are vulnerable. For example, 3.2.1, 3.2.0, 3.1 would be affected; 3.3 and later are not.Affected if Installed version is less than 3.3 (e.g., 3.2, 3.1.x, 3.0)
-
Verify PDF processing capabilityThe vulnerability triggers when processing a specially crafted PDF file. If the application can open and process PDF documents, the vulnerable code path exists.Affected if Application can process PDF files and version is below 3.3
User is affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF for Mac is installed with a version number less than 3.3.
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 data3.3
Users should update to Foxit Reader/PhantomPDF Mac version 3.3 or later. Organizations should inventory affected installations and deploy the patched version through their software distribution mechanisms.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-20826 — 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-2019-20826 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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