CVE-2021-38563
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Foxit PDF Reader before 11.0.1 and PDF Editor before 11.0.1. It mishandles situations in which an array size (derived from a /Size entry) is smaller than the maximum indirect object number, and thus there is an attempted incorrect array access (leading to a NULL pointer dereference, or out-of-bounds read or write).
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 confidenceFoxit PDF Reader and Editor before 11.0.1 have a memory corruption vulnerability in PDF object parsing. The application mishandles the /Size array entry when its size is smaller than the maximum indirect object number referenced in the PDF, leading to incorrect array access. This results in either NULL pointer dereference or out-of-bounds read/write operations, which can be exploited for code execution.
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<= 11.0.0.0510<= 11.0.0.0510CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 PDF Reader versionOpen Foxit PDF Reader, go to Help > About Foxit Reader, or right-click the application in Programs and Features to view version detailsAffected if Version is 11.0.0.0510 or earlier (any version <= 11.0.0.0510)
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Identify installed Foxit PDF Editor versionOpen Foxit PDF Editor, go to Help > About Foxit PDF Editor, or check Programs and Features for the Editor component versionAffected if Version is 11.0.0.0510 or earlier (any version <= 11.0.0.0510)
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Confirm product variantDetermine whether either Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor (or both) are installed on the systemAffected if Either product is present with version <= 11.0.0.0510
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Verify PDF processing capabilityConfirm the application can open and parse PDF files (the vulnerability triggers during PDF parsing when /Size array is smaller than the maximum indirect object number)Affected if The application processes PDF files and the version is affected
A user is affected if Foxit PDF Reader or PDF Editor version 11.0.0.0510 or earlier is installed and can process PDF documents.
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 · scopedUpgrade Foxit PDF Reader and PDF Editor to version 11.0.1 or later. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.
Foxit PDF Reader 11.0.1 or later | Foxit PDF Editor 11.0.1 or later
- Open Foxit PDF Reader or PDF Editor
- Navigate to Help > Check for Updates or visit the official Foxit website at www.foxitsoftware.com
- Download and install version 11.0.1 or later
- Restart the application after updating
- Verify the version by checking Help > About Foxit Reader/Editor
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-38563 — 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-2021-38563 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data