Pdf EditorApplication · Foxit

CVE-2021-34954

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2024-05-07

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to after 11.0.1.49938 or later.

See remediation →

81/100

Remediation priority · High

No privileges

Official description

NVD · unedited

Foxit PDF Editor StrikeOut Annotation Use-After-Free Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit PDF Editor. 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 Annotation objects. 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-14355.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Use-After-Free vulnerability in Foxit PDF Editor's StrikeOut Annotation handling. The software fails to validate object existence before operations, allowing remote code execution in the current process context when a user opens a malicious PDF.

MitigationUpdate Foxit PDF Editor to the vendor's latest patched version; avoid opening untrusted PDF files as a defense-in-depth measure.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Pdf EditorApplication

Affected:<= 10.1.5.37672= 11.0.0.49893= 11.0.1.49938

Pdf ReaderApplication

Affected:<= 11.0.1.49938

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Local
Complexity: Low
Privileges: None
User interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

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

Verify Foxit PDF software is installed

Check for Foxit PDF Editor or Reader in installed programs (Windows: Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\); macOS: check /Applications for Foxit PDF Editor.app or Foxit PDF Reader.app

Affected if Either Foxit PDF Editor or Foxit PDF Reader is present on the system
Determine installed Foxit PDF Editor version

Right-click the Foxit PDF Editor executable (usually FoxitPDFEditor.exe), select Properties, then go to the Details tab to see the Product Version; or run: reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\Foxit PDF Editor" /v Version (or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Foxit Software\Foxit PDF Editor)

Affected if Version is 10.1.5.37672 or earlier, OR exactly 11.0.0.49893, OR exactly 11.0.1.49938
Determine installed Foxit PDF Reader version

Right-click the Foxit PDF Reader executable (usually FoxitPDFReader.exe), select Properties, then go to the Details tab to see the Product Version; or run: reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\Foxit PDF Reader" /v Version (or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Foxit Software\Foxit PDF Reader)

Affected if Version is 11.0.1.49938 or earlier (any version up to and including 11.0.1.49938)

User is affected if Foxit PDF Editor (versions <= 10.1.5.37672, = 11.0.0.49893, or = 11.0.1.49938) or Foxit PDF Reader (versions <= 11.0.1.49938) is installed, as the StrikeOut Annotation feature in these versions contains the Use-After-Free vulnerability that can be triggered by opening a malicious PDF file.

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

Remediation

From vendor data

Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 11.0.1.49938

Interim mitigation

Update Foxit PDF Editor to the vendor's latest patched version; avoid opening untrusted PDF files as a defense-in-depth measure.

Fix this in Pdf Editor Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation1.0 h
Implementation1.0 h
Testing1.0 h
Review / QA1.0 h

4.0 hours of engineering $750

Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

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Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-34954 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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References

Primary sources

www.foxit.comVendor Advisory
www.zerodayinitiative.comThird Party Advisory
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-34954 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2021-34954?

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

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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

At a glance

A fix existsUpgrade to after 11.0.1.49938 or later

Severity 7.8 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.3%

Affects: Pdf Editor

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Pdf Editor 4 hrs · Low

Typical engagement from $750

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2021-34954 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References