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Foxit Reader CVE-2021-31450

HIGH
Use After Free (CWE-416)
2021-05-07 zdi-disclosures@trendmicro.com
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker with access to the system could access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 2.8% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit Reader 10.1.1.37576. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Use smart pointers or garbage-collected languages. Set pointers to NULL after freeing. Enable memory sanitizers.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Use After Free (CWE-416), which allows attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit Reader 10.1.1.37576. 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 XFA forms. 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-13084. Affected products include: Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader, Foxitsoftware Phantompdf.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit Reader 10.1.1.37576. 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 XFA forms. 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-13084.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
2.8%
Top 15% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 2.8%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

42
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +3
CVSS: +39
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:foxitsoftware:foxit_reader:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:foxitsoftware:phantompdf:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:foxitsoftware:phantompdf:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2015-2790 MEDIUM POC
4.3 Mar 30

Foxit Reader, Enterprise Reader, and PhantomPDF before 7.1 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory c

CVE-2018-9958 HIGH POC
8.8 May 17

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Foxit Reader 9.0.1.1

CVE-2017-10952 HIGH POC
8.8 Aug 29

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Foxit Reader 8.2.0.2

CVE-2018-9948 MEDIUM POC
6.5 May 17

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information on vulnerable installations of Foxit Reader

CVE-2023-40194 HIGH POC
8.8 Nov 27

An arbitrary file creation vulnerability exists in the Javascript exportDataObject API of Foxit Reader 12.1.3.15356 due

CVE-2023-39542 HIGH POC
8.8 Nov 27

A code execution vulnerability exists in the Javascript saveAs API of Foxit Reader 12.1.3.15356. Rated high severity (CV

CVE-2023-38573 HIGH POC
8.8 Nov 27

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the way Foxit Reader 12.1.2.15356 handles a signature field. Rated high severit

CVE-2023-35985 HIGH POC
8.8 Nov 27

An arbitrary file creation vulnerability exists in the Javascript exportDataObject API of Foxit Reader 12.1.3.15356 due

CVE-2023-32616 HIGH POC
8.8 Nov 27

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the way Foxit Reader 12.1.2.15356 handles 3D annotations. Rated high severity (

CVE-2021-21822 HIGH POC
8.8 May 10

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the JavaScript engine of Foxit Software’s PDF Reader, version 10.1.3.37598. Rat

CVE-2020-13547 HIGH POC
8.8 Dec 22

A type confusion vulnerability exists in the JavaScript engine of Foxit Software’s Foxit PDF Reader, version 10.1.0.3752

CVE-2020-13570 HIGH POC
8.8 Dec 22

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the JavaScript engine of Foxit Software’s PDF Reader, version 10.1.0.37527. Rat

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