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Pdf EditorApplication · Foxit

CVE-2025-13941

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2025.2.1.33197 or later.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Zero-click

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
A local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Foxit PDF Reader/Editor Update Service. During plugin installation, incorrect file system permissions are assigned to resources used by the update service. A local attacker with low privileges could modify or replace these resources, which are later executed by the service, resulting in execution of arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges.

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

Foxit PDF Reader/Editor's Update Service has a local privilege escalation vulnerability where incorrect file system permissions are assigned to resources during plugin installation. A low-privilege local attacker can modify or replace these resources, which are then executed by the service with SYSTEM-level privileges, allowing arbitrary code execution.

MitigationRestrict file system permissions on update service resources and plugin directories to prevent unauthorized modification by non-admin users; ensure the update service validates the integrity of resources before execution.

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:<= 13.2.1.23955>= 14.0.0.33046, <= 14.0.1.33197>= 2023.1.0.15510, <= 2023.3.0.23028>= 2024.1.0.23997, <= 2024.4.1.27687>= 2025.1.0.27937, <= 2025.2.1.33197
Pdf ReaderApplication
Affected:<= 2025.2.1.33197

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 Editor in the system via installed programs list, or look for Foxit executable files in Program Files or Program Files (x86) directories
    Affected if Foxit PDF Reader or Editor is present on the system
  2. Identify installed version
    Right-click the Foxit executable (typically named FoxitPDFReader.exe or FoxitPDFEditor.exe), select Properties, and check the File version on the Details tab
    Affected if The version falls within any of the affected ranges: <= 13.2.1.23955; >= 14.0.0.33046 and <= 14.0.1.33197; >= 2023.1.0.15510 and <= 2023.3.0.23028; >= 2024.1.0.23997 and <= 2024.4.1.27687; >= 2025.1.0.27937 and <= 2025.2.1.33197; or for Reader, <= 2025.2.1.33197
  3. Locate update service resources and plugin directories
    Search for Foxit update-related folders such as 'Update', 'plugins', or similar in the Foxit installation directory (commonly in Program Files or Program Files (x86)\Foxit Software)
    Affected if Update service resources or plugin directories exist in the Foxit installation folder
  4. Check file permissions on update resources
    Right-click the identified update service folders, select Properties, then Security tab. Examine which users or groups have Write or Modify permissions. Use icacls or accesschk to verify non-admin users cannot write to these directories
    Affected if Users without administrative privileges have Write, Modify, or Full Control permissions on update service or plugin directories
  5. Verify update service status
    Open Services (services.msc) and look for Foxit update-related services, or run 'sc query' to list services containing 'Foxit'
    Affected if A Foxit Update Service is installed and running with elevated (SYSTEM) privileges

If Foxit PDF Reader or Editor is installed with an affected version AND the update service resources or plugin directories grant write permissions to non-admin users, the system is vulnerable to local privilege escalation.

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 a release after 2025.2.1.33197
Interim mitigation

Restrict file system permissions on update service resources and plugin directories to prevent unauthorized modification by non-admin users; ensure the update service validates the integrity of resources before execution.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable Foxit PDF Reader/PDF Editor (version higher than the last affected release in each branch)

  1. 1. Navigate to the official Foxit website (www.foxit.com) and locate the downloads or support section for PDF Reader and PDF Editor
  2. 2. Identify the latest available version of Foxit PDF Reader and PDF Editor
  3. 3. Download the latest version for your installed product (PDF Reader or PDF Editor)
  4. 4. Uninstall the current vulnerable version of Foxit software
  5. 5. Install the newly downloaded version which should contain the security fix for CVE-2025-13941
  6. 6. After installation, verify the version number matches the latest stable release
Caveat Standard upgrade - ensure you backup any custom settings or plugins before uninstalling

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

Fix this in Pdf Editor Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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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-2025-13941 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