CVE-2020-10896
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 9.7.1.29511. 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 U3D objects in PDF files. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of the length of user-supplied data prior to copying it to a heap-based buffer. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-10192.
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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow in Foxit PhantomPDF's handling of U3D (Universal 3D) objects in PDF files. The vulnerability results from insufficient validation of user-supplied data length before copying to a heap buffer, allowing remote code execution when a user opens a malicious PDF.
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 check C:\Program Files\Foxit Software for PhantomPDF or Foxit Reader foldersAffected if Neither Foxit PhantomPDF nor Foxit Reader is installed - you are not affected
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Determine PhantomPDF versionIf installed, open PhantomPDF, click Help > About PhantomPDF, or check Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\FoxitSoftware\Foxit PhantomPDF\Install, or run: "C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit PhantomPDF\FoxitPhantomPDF.exe" /RegServer and then check version via Help > AboutAffected if Version displays as 9.7.1.29511 or lower
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Determine Reader versionIf PhantomPDF is not installed but Reader is, open Reader, click Help > About Foxit Reader, or check Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\FoxitSoftware\Foxit Reader\Install, or run: "C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\FoxitReader.exe" /RegServer and then check version via Help > AboutAffected if Version displays as 9.7.1.29511 or lower
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Compare against affected rangeCompare your documented version number to the affected range: versions <= 9.7.1.29511 are vulnerableAffected if Your installed version is 9.7.1.29511 or any earlier version number
You are affected if Foxit PhantomPDF or Reader is installed AND the version is 9.7.1.29511 or lower.
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 dataApply vendor patch from Foxit; avoid opening untrusted PDF files until patched. Verify PhantomPDF version is greater than 9.7.1.29511.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-10896 — 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-2020-10896 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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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
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