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ReaderApplication · Foxitsoftware

CVE-2020-8855

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-02-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.7.0.29478 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 · unedited
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit PhantomPDF 9.7.0.2947. 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 fxhtml2pdf.exe module. 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 vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-9560.

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 confidence

A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in Foxit PhantomPDF's fxhtml2pdf.exe module due to lack of object existence validation before operations. Attackers exploit this by tricking users into opening malicious PDF files or visiting malicious web pages, achieving arbitrary code execution in the current process context.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patch/update to Foxit PhantomPDF. Until patched, instruct users to avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and disable browser plugins/active content that trigger HTML-to-PDF conversion.

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
ReaderApplication
Affected:<= 9.7.0.29478
PhantompdfApplication
Affected:<= 9.7.0.29455

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Foxit product
    Check for Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF installation via Registry key: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{GUID} or look in Program Files for Foxit Software folder
    Affected if Either Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed
  2. Determine installed version
    Open Foxit application, go to Help > About, or check Version value in registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Foxitsoftware\Reader\Install or similarly named path
    Affected if Version is 9.7.0.29478 or lower for Reader, or 9.7.0.29455 or lower for PhantomPDF
  3. Locate fxhtml2pdf.exe module
    Search for fxhtml2pdf.exe in the Foxit installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\ or Foxit PhantomPDF\)
    Affected if The fxhtml2pdf.exe file exists in the Foxit installation folder
  4. Check if HTML-to-PDF conversion is enabled
    Inspect browser plugin status: In Foxit Reader/PhantomPDF, go to File > Preferences > General > Startup to see if 'Browser Integration' or 'Convert web pages to PDF' is enabled, or check browser add-ons for FoxitPDFShim or similar
    Affected if Browser integration or web-to-PDF conversion feature is enabled and active
  5. Verify PDF opening from untrusted sources is possible
    Check if the Foxit application can open PDF files directly or via browser, or if IE/Chrome/Firefox plugins are loaded (check Tools > Manage Add-ons > Foxit plugins)
    Affected if User can open PDF files through Foxit integration with file system or browser

User is affected if Foxit Reader <= 9.7.0.29478 or PhantomPDF <= 9.7.0.29455 is installed with the fxhtml2pdf.exe module present and HTML-to-PDF/browser integration features enabled.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 9.7.0.29478
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patch/update to Foxit PhantomPDF. Until patched, instruct users to avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and disable browser plugins/active content that trigger HTML-to-PDF conversion.

Fix this in Reader Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-8855 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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