CVE-2021-34968
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 · uneditedFoxit PDF Editor transitionToState 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 implementation of the transitionToState method. 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-14370.
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 confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in Foxit PDF Editor's transitionToState method that fails to validate object existence before operating on it, allowing remote code execution in the current process context when a user opens a malicious PDF or visits a malicious webpage.
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<= 10.1.5.37672= 11.0.0.49893= 11.0.1.49938<= 11.0.1.49938CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Foxit PDF application is installedCheck for Foxit PDF Editor or Reader in the system: Look in Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software or C:\Program Files\Foxit, check Start Menu shortcuts, or look for foxit.exe process in Task ManagerAffected if Foxit PDF Editor or Reader executable is found on the system
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Identify the installed Foxit versionOpen Foxit and navigate to Help > About Foxit [PDF Editor/Reader], or right-click the desktop shortcut and select Properties to view the version in the Details tabAffected if A version number is displayed that can be compared to affected ranges
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Compare version against affected rangesMatch the installed version to the affected list: Foxit PDF Editor versions <= 10.1.5.37672, exactly 11.0.0.49893, or exactly 11.0.1.49938; Foxit PDF Reader versions <= 11.0.1.49938Affected if Installed version falls within or matches any of these affected versions
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Assess exposure to untrusted PDFsDetermine if the Foxit application is configured to automatically open PDF files or if users commonly open PDF files from external or untrusted sourcesAffected if Users routinely open PDF files from unknown or untrusted sources, as the vulnerability triggers when processing a malicious PDF
The environment is affected if Foxit PDF Editor (any version <= 10.1.5.37672, 11.0.0.49893, or 11.0.1.49938) or Foxit PDF Reader (any version <= 11.0.1.49938) is installed and users open PDF files with it.
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 dataUpdate Foxit PDF Editor to the latest patched version; avoid opening untrusted PDF files or clicking suspicious links until the patch is applied.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-34968 — 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-2021-34968 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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