CVE-2024-9244
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 · uneditedFoxit PDF Reader Update Service Incorrect Permission Assignment Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Foxit PDF Reader. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the handling of the configuration files used by the Foxit Reader Update Service. The issue results from incorrect permissions set on a resource used by the service. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-23933.
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 confidenceThe Foxit PDF Reader Update Service stores configuration files with overly permissive access controls, allowing a low-privileged local attacker to modify these files and inject malicious configuration that causes the service (running as SYSTEM) to execute arbitrary code during the update 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<= 11.2.10.53951>= 12.0, <= 12.1.7.15526>= 13.0, <= 13.1.3.22478>= 2023.0, <= 2023.3.0.23028>= 2024.0, <= 2024.2.3.25184<= 2024.2.3.25184CVSS 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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Identify Foxit PDF installationCheck for Foxit PDF Reader or Editor in the system: Look in 'C:\Program Files\Foxit Software' or 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software'. Also check Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Foxit or HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Foxit for installation entries.Affected if Foxit PDF Reader or Editor is installed on the system
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Check installed Foxit versionRight-click the Foxit executable (usually FoxitReader.exe or FoxitPDFEditor.exe) in the installation folder, select Properties, and view the File Version on the Details tab. Alternatively, run 'wmic product where "name like 'Foxit%'" get name,version' from an elevated command prompt.Affected if The version falls within any of these ranges: <= 11.2.10.53951, >= 12.0 and <= 12.1.7.15526, >= 13.0 and <= 13.1.3.22478, >= 2023.0 and <= 2023.3.0.23028, >= 2024.0 and <= 2024.2.3.25184
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Verify Foxit Update Service exists and runs as SYSTEMOpen Services (services.msc), look for 'Foxit Reader Update Service' or 'Foxit PDF Editor Update Service', and check the 'Log On As' column. Alternatively, run 'sc query type= service' and grep for 'Foxit', then 'sc qc [service_name]' to see the binary path and 'LogOn' info.Affected if The Foxit Update Service is installed and runs under the SYSTEM or LocalSystem account
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Inspect Update Service configuration file permissionsNavigate to the Foxit installation folder (typically C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit PDF Reader\ or Foxit PDF Editor\). Look for configuration files in folders named 'Update', 'config', or 'settings'. Right-click each config file, go to Properties > Security, and examine the permissions for Users or Everyone groups.Affected if Non-privileged users (such as standard Users group or Everyone) have Write or Modify permissions on the configuration files in the Foxit Update directories
A system is affected if Foxit PDF Reader or Editor is installed with a vulnerable version AND the Update Service runs as SYSTEM AND non-privileged users can write to the Update Service configuration files.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply strict NTFS permissions to Foxit Reader configuration files and service directories, restricting write access to privileged administrators only; alternatively, apply vendor patches or upgrade to the latest Foxit PDF Reader version.
Foxit PDF Reader 2024.3.0 or later; Foxit PDF Editor 11.2.10.53952+ / 12.1.8+ / 13.1.4+ / 2023.3.1+
- 1. Open Foxit PDF Reader or Foxit PDF Editor application
- 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates or use the built-in update checker
- 3. Download and install the latest available version from the official Foxit website at https://www.foxit.com/downloads/
- 4. Alternatively, download the latest version directly from https://www.foxit.com/product/pdf-reader.html (for Reader) or https://www.foxit.com/product/pdf-editor.html (for Editor)
- 5. Restart the application after update installation
- 6. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed releases (2024.3.0 or later for Reader; 11.2.10.53952 or later for version 11.x; 12.1.8 or later for version 12.x; 13.1.4 or later for version 13.x; 2023.3.1 or later for version 2023)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2024-9244 — 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-2024-9244 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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