CVE-2022-28677
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 · uneditedThis vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit PDF Reader 11.2.1.53537. 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-16663.
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 or null pointer dereference vulnerability in Foxit PDF Reader 11.2.1.53537. The flaw exists in the handling of Annotation objects where the code fails to validate that an object exists before performing operations on it. An attacker can exploit this by tricking a user into opening a malicious PDF file, allowing arbitrary code execution in the context of the current process.
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<= 10.1.7.37777>= 11.0, <= 11.2.1.53537<= 11.2.1.53537CVSS 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:3.1/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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Verify Foxit PDF software is installedCheck system for Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor applications. On Windows, review installed programs in Control Panel or use system inventory tools. On macOS, check the Applications folder.Affected if Either Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor is present on the system
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Determine installed Foxit versionOpen the Foxit application, then access Help > About Foxit [Reader/Editor] to display the exact version number and build information.Affected if The displayed version falls within an affected range: Foxit PDF Editor versions <= 10.1.7.37777 OR >= 11.0 through <= 11.2.1.53537; Foxit PDF Reader versions <= 11.2.1.53537
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Compare version against affected rangesIf version is Foxit PDF Editor 10.x, check if it is 10.1.7.37777 or lower. If version is 11.x, check if it is 11.2.1.53537 or lower. Any version at or below these thresholds is affected.Affected if Installed version is 10.1.7.37777 or lower, OR is 11.0 through 11.2.1.53537 inclusive
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Confirm exposure to trigger conditionThe vulnerability is triggered when a user opens a maliciously crafted PDF file containing specially formatted Annotation objects. Review PDF files opened from untrusted sources.Affected if The user opens PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources using a vulnerable Foxit version
A system is affected if Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor is installed with a version <= 10.1.7.37777, or any version from 11.0 through 11.2.1.53537, and the user may open PDF files from untrusted sources.
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 Reader to the latest version and avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-28677 — 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-2022-28677 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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