CVE-2019-6773
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 vulnerable installations of Foxit Reader 9.4.1.16828. 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 handling of the richValue property of a Field object within AcroForms. 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 in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-8272.
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 information disclosure vulnerability in Foxit Reader's AcroForms handling where the application fails to validate object existence before performing operations on the richValue property of a Field object. The lack of null-check validation allows attackers to access sensitive information, and this flaw can be chained with other vulnerabilities to achieve code execution in the current process context.
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<= 9.4.1.16828<= 8.3.9.41099>= 9.0.0, <= 9.4.1.16828CVSS 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 Foxit Reader installation and versionOpen Foxit Reader, then navigate to Help > About Foxit Reader to view the installed version number. Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel for the installed version.Affected if The displayed version is 9.4.1.16828 or lower.
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Identify PhantomPDF installation and versionOpen PhantomPDF, then navigate to Help > About Foxit PhantomPDF to view the installed version number. Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel for the installed version.Affected if The displayed version is 8.3.9.41099 or lower, OR between 9.0.0 and 9.4.1.16828 inclusive.
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Confirm AcroForms functionality is presentOpen any PDF that contains fillable form fields in Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF. Navigate to Forms tab or attempt to interact with form fields to verify AcroForms support is active.Affected if AcroForms are present and functional in the application, indicating the affected component is available for exploitation.
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Verify JavaScript execution settingGo to File > Preferences > JavaScript in Foxit Reader/PhantomPDF and check if Enable Adobe JavaScript is checked.Affected if JavaScript execution is enabled, as the vulnerability can be chained with other flaws for code execution in the current process context.
You are affected if Foxit Reader version is 9.4.1.16828 or lower, or PhantomPDF version is 8.3.9.41099 or lower or between 9.0.0 and 9.4.1.16828, and AcroForms are used in the application.
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 to address the vulnerability. Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and disable JavaScript execution in Foxit settings as a compensating control until the update is applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-6773 — 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-2019-6773 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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