CVE-2021-34974
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 Reader Annotation Use-After-Free Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit PDF Reader. 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-15167.
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 confidenceThis is a use-after-free vulnerability in Foxit PDF Reader's Annotation handling. The flaw results from the lack of validating the existence of an object prior to performing operations on it, allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process via a malicious PDF file.
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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Identify installed Foxit productCheck Program Files folder for Foxit Software subdirectories, or look for FoxitReader.exe / FoxitPDFEditor.exe in typical installation paths such as C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit PDF Reader\ or C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit PDF Editor\Affected if Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor is installed on the system
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Determine installed version numberRight-click the Foxit executable (FoxitReader.exe or FoxitPDFEditor.exe), select Properties, then view the Details tab to see the Product version fieldAffected if Version cannot be determined or is blank, indicating an unpatched installation
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Compare version against affected rangesCompare the installed version number to these affected ranges: Reader: any version <= 11.0.1.49938; Editor: any version <= 10.1.5.37672, or exactly 11.0.0.49893 or 11.0.1.49938Affected if Installed version falls within or matches any of these affected ranges, indicating vulnerability to this CVE
The user is affected if Foxit PDF Reader (any version up to and including 11.0.1.49938) or Foxit PDF Editor (version 10.1.5.37672 or lower, or exactly 11.0.0.49893 or 11.0.1.49938) is installed and running.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the vendor patch by updating Foxit PDF Reader to the latest version. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted PDF files and consider disabling JavaScript execution in the reader as a defense-in-depth measure.
Foxit PDF Reader/PDF Editor version 11.0.2 or later
- 1. Open Foxit PDF Reader or PDF Editor application
- 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates or About Foxit to identify current version
- 3. Download the latest version from the official Foxit website (www.foxit.com)
- 4. Close all Foxit applications and any PDF files currently open
- 5. Run the installer for the new version and complete the installation
- 6. Restart the application and verify the version is updated
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-34974 — 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-2021-34974 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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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.
- 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