Vulnerability DatabaseCVE-2021-34959

CVE-2021-34959:
Foxit PDF Reader vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Overview

Foxit PDF Editor Square Annotation Use-After-Free Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2021-34959) was discovered in Foxit PDF Editor. The vulnerability was reported on August 11, 2021, and publicly disclosed on October 15, 2021. This vulnerability affects installations of Foxit PDF Editor and requires user interaction to be exploited (Zero Day Initiative).

Technical details

The vulnerability exists within the handling of Annotation objects in Foxit PDF Editor. The specific flaw results from the lack of validating the existence of an object prior to performing operations on the object. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS v3.0 base score of 7.8 (High) with the vector: AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (Zero Day Initiative).

Impact

If successfully exploited, this vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process on affected installations of Foxit PDF Editor. The attack requires user interaction, specifically the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file (Zero Day Initiative).

Mitigation and workarounds

Foxit has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Users should update their Foxit PDF Editor installations to the latest version available through the vendor's website (Foxit Security Bulletins).