CVE-2020-10889
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 execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit PhantomPDF 9.7.0.29478. 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 DuplicatePages command of the communication API. 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 vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-9828.
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 PhantomPDF 9.7.0.29478 contains a vulnerability in the communication API's DuplicatePages command that lacks proper validation of user-supplied data, resulting in a type confusion condition. This allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code in the current process context, but requires user interaction such as 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<= 9.7.1.29511<= 9.7.1.29511CVSS 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 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 Either Foxit Reader or Foxit PhantomPDF is installed
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Check product version against affected rangeNote the displayed version number and compare to 9.7.1.29511 - any version less than or equal to 9.7.1.29511 is affectedAffected if Installed version is 9.7.1.29511 or lower
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Verify application is used to open PDF filesCheck if the installed Foxit application is set as the default PDF handler or regularly used to open PDF documents from various sourcesAffected if Users open PDF files with this vulnerable application
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Confirm no security update has been appliedCheck Foxit Help > About or look for recent security updates in the application historyAffected if No patch version higher than 9.7.1.29511 is installed
If Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF version 9.7.1.29511 or lower is installed and used to open PDF files, the environment is affected by this 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 dataUpdate Foxit PhantomPDF to the latest version to remediate this vulnerability. Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and exercise caution with links to malicious pages.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-10889 — 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-2020-10889 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