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Pdf EditorApplication · Foxit

CVE-2021-34961

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 Ink 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-14363.

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

This is a Use-After-Free (UAF) vulnerability in Foxit PDF Editor's Ink Annotation handling. The software fails to validate object existence before performing operations on it, allowing an attacker to manipulate memory through malicious PDF files and achieve arbitrary code execution in the current process context.

MitigationApply the vendor security patch by updating Foxit PDF Editor to the latest version; until then, avoid opening untrusted PDF files and disable JavaScript execution in the PDF reader if possible.

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. Check if Foxit PDF Editor or Reader is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check for Foxit PDF Editor/Foxit Reader in the program files directory (typically C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software\)
    Affected if Foxit PDF Editor or Foxit PDF Reader is present on the system
  2. Identify the installed Foxit product version
    Right-click the Foxit executable (FoxitPDFEditor.exe or FoxitReader.exe), select Properties, then go to the Details tab to view the Product Version
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or is within the affected ranges
  3. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    For Foxit PDF Editor: check if version is <= 10.1.5.37672, or exactly 11.0.0.49893, or exactly 11.0.1.49938. For Foxit PDF Reader: check if version is <= 11.0.1.49938
    Affected if The installed version matches any of these: Foxit PDF Editor <= 10.1.5.37672, = 11.0.0.49893, = 11.0.1.49938, or Foxit PDF Reader <= 11.0.1.49938
  4. Confirm the vulnerability trigger condition
    This is a Use-After-Free in Ink Annotation handling - the flaw is triggered when opening a PDF file containing specially crafted Ink Annotations. There is no special configuration to enable; the vulnerable code path executes when processing such PDFs
    Affected if The software processes PDF files with Ink Annotations and the version is affected

If Foxit PDF Editor or Reader is installed and the version falls within the affected ranges (Editor <= 10.1.5.37672, = 11.0.0.49893, = 11.0.1.49938 or Reader <= 11.0.1.49938), the environment is vulnerable to this Use-After-Free flaw when opening malicious PDF files with Ink Annotations.

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

Apply the vendor security patch by updating Foxit PDF Editor to the latest version; until then, avoid opening untrusted PDF files and disable JavaScript execution in the PDF reader if possible.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Foxit PDF Editor/PDF Reader version > 11.0.1.49938 (check Foxit website for exact patched release)

  1. 1. Open Foxit PDF Editor or PDF Reader application
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > About Foxit PDF Editor/Reader to check the current version
  3. 3. Visit the official Foxit website at www.foxit.com to download the latest version
  4. 4. Download and install the most recent release of Foxit PDF Editor or PDF Reader
  5. 5. Verify the version number in Help > About matches a version newer than 11.0.1.49938

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

Fix this in Pdf Editor Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2021-34961 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