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Pdf EditorApplication · Foxit

CVE-2021-34955

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 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
Foxit PDF Editor Stamp 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-14356.

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 Use-After-Free vulnerability in Foxit PDF Editor's Stamp Annotation handling allows remote code execution. The flaw stems from the lack of object existence validation before performing operations on Annotation objects, enabling an attacker to manipulate freed memory and execute arbitrary code through a maliciously crafted PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Foxit PDF Editor to the latest patched version. Avoid opening untrusted PDF files or visiting malicious web pages to reduce exploit likelihood.

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
Pdf EditorApplication
Affected:<= 10.1.5.37672= 11.0.0.49893= 11.0.1.49938
Pdf ReaderApplication
Affected:<= 11.0.1.49938

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:3.0/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 the installed Foxit product
    Open the application and check the title bar, or go to Help > About to see if it is Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor (formerly Foxit PhantomPDF)
    Affected if The product is Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor
  2. Determine the installed version number
    In the application, go to Help > About or right-click the executable file (FoxitPDFReader.exe or FoxitPDFEditor.exe) in the installation folder, select Properties, and view the Version tab. Alternatively, run 'wmic product get name,version' or check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\FoxitSoftware\FoxitPDFReader or FoxitPDFEditor
    Affected if The exact version cannot be determined
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    For Foxit PDF Editor, check if version is 10.1.5.37672 or lower, OR exactly 11.0.0.49893, OR exactly 11.0.1.49938. For Foxit PDF Reader, check if version is 11.0.1.49938 or lower
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these affected ranges: Editor <= 10.1.5.37672, Editor = 11.0.0.49893, Editor = 11.0.1.49938, Reader <= 11.0.1.49938

A user is affected if they have Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor installed with a version number matching one of the affected versions listed above.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 11.0.1.49938
Interim mitigation

Update Foxit PDF Editor to the latest patched version. Avoid opening untrusted PDF files or visiting malicious web pages to reduce exploit likelihood.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest available Foxit PDF Editor and Foxit PDF Reader releases (contact Foxit support or check https://www.foxit.com/support/ for version-specific security patches after 11.0.1.49938 for Reader and after 11.0.1.49938 for Editor)

  1. Verify your current Foxit PDF Editor or PDF Reader version by navigating to Help > About in the application
  2. Download the latest version of Foxit PDF Editor or PDF Reader from the official Foxit website at www.foxit.com
  3. Close all Foxit applications before installing the update
  4. Install the latest version of Foxit PDF Editor or PDF Reader
  5. Restart your computer after installation to ensure all components are properly updated
  6. Open Foxit and verify the version in Help > About matches the latest available release

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Pdf Editor Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

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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-2021-34955 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