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Foxit ReaderApplication · Foxitsoftware

CVE-2021-38570

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.1.4 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
An issue was discovered in Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF before 10.1.4. It allows attackers to delete arbitrary files (during uninstallation) via a symlink.

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 symlink attack vulnerability in Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF before version 10.1.4 allows local attackers to delete arbitrary files during the uninstallation process by placing a malicious symlink, enabling local privilege escalation.

MitigationUpgrade to Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF version 10.1.4 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

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
Foxit ReaderApplication
Affected:< 10.1.4
PhantompdfApplication
Affected:< 10.1.4

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 installed Foxit Reader version
    Open Windows Registry and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\FoxitReader or check the executable properties at C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\FoxitReader.exe by right-clicking and selecting Properties > Details to view the File Version
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 10.1.4 or the version field is empty/unavailable indicating an old installation
  2. Identify installed PhantomPDF version
    Open Windows Registry and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\PhantomPDF or check the executable properties at C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\PhantomPDF\PhantomPDF.exe by right-clicking and selecting Properties > Details to view the File Version
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 10.1.4 or the version field is empty/unavailable indicating an old installation
  3. Confirm software is present on the system
    Search for Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF in Add or Remove Programs (appwiz.cpl) or list installed programs using PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*Foxit*'} | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion
    Affected if Either Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF appears in the installed programs list with a version below 10.1.4

The system is affected if Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF is installed with any version lower than 10.1.4, as the vulnerability exploits the uninstallation process in those versions.

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 10.1.4 or later
Fixed in 10.1.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF version 10.1.4 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Foxit Reader 10.1.4 and PhantomPDF 10.1.4

  1. Back up any important PDF files and settings from your current Foxit installation
  2. Uninstall the current version of Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF
  3. Navigate to the official Foxit website (www.foxitsoftware.com) and download version 10.1.4 or later of your product
  4. Run the downloaded installer and follow the prompts to install the fixed version
  5. Launch the newly installed application to verify it works correctly

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

Fix this in Foxit Reader Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-38570 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