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Pdf EditorApplication · Foxit

CVE-2023-51551

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2024-05-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2023.2.0.61611 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
Foxit PDF Reader AcroForm Signature Use-After-Free Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit PDF Reader. 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 Signature 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-22003.

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

Use-after-free vulnerability in Foxit PDF Reader's AcroForm Signature object handling. The software fails to validate object existence before performing operations, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code via malicious PDF files requiring user interaction.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied Foxit PDF Reader updates; avoid opening untrusted PDF files and disable JavaScript in PDF settings as a defense-in-depth 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:<= 10.1.12.37872>= 11.0.0, <= 11.2.7.53812>= 12.0.0, <= 12.1.3.15356= 13.0.0.21632= 2023.1.0.15510= 2023.2.0.21408<= 11.1.5.0913>= 12.0.0, <= 12.1.1.55342= 13.0.0.61829= 2023.1.0.55583= 2023.2.0.61611
Pdf ReaderApplication
Affected:<= 2023.2.0.21408<= 2023.2.0.61611

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:3.0/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. Confirm Foxit PDF installation
    Check for Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor in installed programs. On Windows, inspect the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall or check Program Files folder for Foxit software.
    Affected if Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor is installed
  2. Retrieve installed version
    Right-click the Foxit executable (typically in C:\Program Files\Foxit Software or C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software), select Properties, and view the Version tab. Alternatively, open Foxit and go to Help > About.
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or is not visible
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    For Foxit PDF Reader: check if version is <= 2023.2.0.21408 or <= 2023.2.0.61611. For Foxit PDF Editor: check against the multiple ranges listed in the CVE (10.1.12.37872 and earlier; 11.0.0-11.2.7.53812; 12.0.0-12.1.3.15356; specific builds like 13.0.0.21632, 2023.1.0.15510, 2023.2.0.21408, etc.).
    Affected if Installed version falls within any of the listed affected version ranges
  4. Verify AcroForm Signature capability present
    Open any PDF in Foxit, go to Forms menu or right-click to check for Signature/AcroForm functionality. The vulnerability triggers when processing PDF files containing AcroForm signature objects.
    Affected if AcroForm or Signature features are present in the installation (standard in most Foxit installations)

You are affected if Foxit PDF Reader or Editor is installed and the version matches any of the CVE-listed affected ranges, as the use-after-free triggers when processing malicious PDFs with AcroForm signature objects.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2023.2.0.61611
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied Foxit PDF Reader updates; avoid opening untrusted PDF files and disable JavaScript in PDF settings as a defense-in-depth measure.

Fix this in Pdf Editor Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2023-51551 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