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Pdf EditorApplication · Foxit

CVE-2022-43649

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.1.11 / 11.2.5 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
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit PDF Reader 12.0.2.12465. 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-19478.

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 use-after-free or null pointer dereference vulnerability in Foxit PDF Reader's Annotation object handling allows remote code execution via a maliciously crafted PDF. The reader fails to validate object existence before performing operations, leading to memory corruption that can be leveraged for arbitrary code execution in the current process context.

MitigationUpdate Foxit PDF Reader to the latest version; avoid opening untrusted PDF files and disable JavaScript in PDF settings as an additional hardening measure.

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
Pdf EditorApplication
Affected:< 10.1.11>= 11.0.0, < 11.2.5>= 12.0.0, < 12.1
Pdf ReaderApplication
Affected:< 12.1

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. Locate installed Foxit PDF application
    Check Program Files or Program Files (x86) folders for Foxit Reader or Foxit PDF Editor directories, or open the application and look at the title bar for the product name
    Affected if Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor is installed
  2. Determine installed version
    In Foxit, go to Help > About Foxit PDF Reader (or Editor). The version number displays in the dialog (e.g., 12.0.2, 11.2.4, 10.1.10)
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or is earlier than 12.1 for Reader, or falls outside safe ranges for Editor
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    For Reader: affected if version is below 12.1. For Editor: affected if version is < 10.1.11, OR >= 11.0.0 AND < 11.2.5, OR >= 12.0.0 AND < 12.1
    Affected if Version falls into any of these affected ranges: Reader < 12.1; Editor < 10.1.11; Editor 11.0.0-11.2.4; Editor 12.0.0-12.0.x
  4. Verify JavaScript execution setting (attack vector)
    In Foxit, go to File > Preferences > JavaScript. Check if Enable Adobe JavaScript is checked. The vulnerability can be triggered via malicious PDF with embedded scripts
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled and the Foxit version is in the affected range

You are affected if Foxit PDF Reader version is below 12.1, or Foxit PDF Editor version is below 10.1.11, between 11.0.0-11.2.4, or between 12.0.0-12.0.x.

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 10.1.11 / 11.2.5 / 12.1 or later
Fixed in 10.1.1111.2.512.1
Interim mitigation

Update Foxit PDF Reader to the latest version; avoid opening untrusted PDF files and disable JavaScript in PDF settings as an additional hardening measure.

Recommended fix High confidence

Pdf Reader: 12.1 or later; Pdf Editor: 12.1 (or 10.1.11 for v10.x, 11.2.5 for v11.x)

  1. Navigate to the official Foxit download page at www.foxit.com
  2. Download Pdf Reader version 12.1 or later
  3. Download Pdf Editor version 12.1 (or 10.1.11 for version 10.x, 11.2.5 for version 11.x) depending on your current major version
  4. Close any running instances of Foxit PDF Reader or PDF Editor
  5. Install the downloaded updated version

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

Fix this in Pdf Editor Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
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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-2022-43649 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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