CVE-2021-27268
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 10.1.0.37527. 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 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-12295.
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 confidenceA use-after-free or null pointer dereference vulnerability in Foxit PhantomPDF's handling of U3D (3D) objects in PDF files allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a specially crafted PDF that fails to validate object existence before performing operations on it. User interaction required (opening 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<= 10.1.0.37527<= 10.1.0.37527CVSS 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 productCheck for Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF installation in Program Files (typically C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\) or via Windows Add/Remove ProgramsAffected if Either Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed on the system
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Retrieve Foxit Reader versionFor Foxit Reader: right-click the executable (FoxitReader.exe), select Properties, then view the Details tab for the Product Version field. Alternatively, open Foxit Reader, go to Help > About Foxit Reader to display the version numberAffected if Version number displayed is 10.1.0.37527 or lower
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Retrieve PhantomPDF versionFor PhantomPDF: right-click the executable (PhantomPDF.exe), select Properties, then view the Details tab for the Product Version field. Alternatively, open PhantomPDF, go to Help > About Foxit PhantomPDF to display the version numberAffected if Version number displayed is 10.1.0.37527 or lower
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Confirm vulnerability applicabilityThis vulnerability is triggered automatically when opening any PDF containing U3D (3D) objects. No specific feature configuration need be enabled - the flaw exists in the core U3D parsing logicAffected if The installed Foxit product version is <= 10.1.0.37527 and users open PDF files from untrusted sources
You are affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed with a version number at or below 10.1.0.37527.
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/update to Foxit PhantomPDF; avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2021-27268 — 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-2021-27268 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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