dbcve.org
Foxit ReaderApplication · Foxitsoftware

CVE-2022-43310

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.2.118.51569 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 Uncontrolled Search Path Element in Foxit Software released Foxit Reader v11.2.118.51569 allows attackers to escalate privileges when searching for DLL libraries without specifying an absolute path.

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 · moderate confidence

Foxit Reader v11.2.118.51569 contains an uncontrolled search path element vulnerability where the application searches for DLL libraries without specifying an absolute path. Attackers can place malicious DLL files in directories that the application searches, allowing DLL hijacking and privilege escalation to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the running user.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided patch/update from Foxit Software to obtain a version where DLL libraries are loaded using absolute paths or secure search order. In the interim, ensure the application runs from trusted directories and that user-writable directories are not in the system PATH before application directories.

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:< 11.2.118.51569

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if Foxit Reader is installed
    Look for Foxit Reader in the list of installed applications via Add/Remove Programs (Windows) or check common installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Foxit Software or C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software
    Affected if Foxit Reader is found on the system
  2. Determine the installed version number
    Open Foxit Reader, then go to Help > About Foxit Reader to view the exact build version. Alternatively, check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader (or HKCU\SOFTWARE\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader) for the Version or InstallVersion key
    Affected if The version shown is lower than 11.2.118.51569 (for example, 11.2.0, 11.1.x, or earlier)
  3. Verify the DLL loading behavior
    Observe that the application loads DLL libraries without specifying absolute paths. This can be confirmed by monitoring process activity with tools like Process Monitor, filtering for FoxitReader.exe and looking for DLL load attempts where the path is not fully qualified (for example, loading "common.dll" instead of "C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader\common.dll")
    Affected if DLL loads show relative paths or search through multiple directories without absolute path specification

A user is affected if Foxit Reader is installed with a version lower than 11.2.118.51569 and the application loads DLLs without using absolute paths, allowing potential DLL hijacking from directories in the search order.

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 11.2.118.51569 or later
Fixed in 11.2.118.51569
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided patch/update from Foxit Software to obtain a version where DLL libraries are loaded using absolute paths or secure search order. In the interim, ensure the application runs from trusted directories and that user-writable directories are not in the system PATH before application directories.

Recommended fix High confidence

Foxit Reader 11.2.118.51569 or later

  1. 1. Open Foxit Reader and navigate to Help > Check for Updates to download the latest version
  2. 2. Alternatively, visit the official Foxit website at www.foxitsoftware.com and navigate to the Downloads section for Foxit Reader
  3. 3. Download Foxit Reader version 11.2.118.51569 or later
  4. 4. Close Foxit Reader if currently open
  5. 5. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. 6. After installation, verify the version by going to Help > About Foxit Reader

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

Fix this in Foxit Reader Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-43310 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-43310 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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