CVE-2020-17414
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 local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Foxit Reader 10.0.0.35798. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the handling of the configuration files used by the Foxit Reader Update Service. The issue results from incorrect permissions set on a resource used by the service. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-11229.
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 a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Foxit Reader's Update Service. The service uses configuration files with overly permissive access controls, allowing a low-privileged attacker to modify these files and cause the service (running as SYSTEM) to execute arbitrary code, achieving privilege escalation.
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<= 10.0.1.35811<= 10.0.1.35811CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 Foxit product installation and versionCheck installed programs for Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF, or query the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ for Foxit entries to retrieve the installed version number.Affected if The installed version is 10.0.1.35811 or lower, or if the version cannot be determined but Foxit software is present.
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Locate the Foxit Update ServiceOpen Services.msc and look for a Foxit-related update service (commonly named Foxit Reader Update Service or similar), or query via command line: sc query type= service state= all | findstr -i foxit.Affected if The Foxit Update Service is installed and present on the system.
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Identify Update Service configuration filesNavigate to the Foxit installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\) and locate configuration files in the Update or folder subdirectories, or search for files named updater.cfg, update.ini, or similar config files within the Foxit program folder.Affected if Configuration files exist in the Foxit installation directory or related update folders.
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Check file permissions on configuration filesRight-click each configuration file identified, select Properties, then inspect the Security tab. Verify which users and groups have Write or Modify permissions. Alternatively, use icacls <filename> from an elevated command prompt to view explicit ACL entries.Affected if Users other than SYSTEM, Administrators, or the installing user have Write, Modify, or Full Control permissions on the configuration files.
A user is affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF version 10.0.1.35811 or lower is installed, the Update Service exists, and configuration files grant write access to low-privileged users or groups.
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 dataCorrect file permissions on Foxit Reader Update Service configuration files to restrict modification to SYSTEM/Administrators only, or reconfigure the service to use secure file locations with proper ACLs.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-17414 — 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-2020-17414 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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