CVE-2018-9962: Use After Free

Published May 17, 2018
·
Updated

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Foxit Reader 9.0.1.1049. 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 parsing of Annotation's author attribute. 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 under the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-5435.

Affected Software

2 affected components
Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader<=9.0.1.1049
Foxitsoftware Phantompdf<=9.0.1.1049

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade Foxit Reader to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 9.0.1.1049Patch ZDI-CAN-5435

Event History

May 17, 2018
CVE Published
via MITRE·03:00 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·03:00 PM
DescriptionWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·03:29 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What does an attacker need to do to exploit this issue?

The attacker must cause the target to visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. No privileges are required, and the attack can be delivered remotely.

2

What level of access could successful exploitation provide?

Successful exploitation can execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process. The reported impact includes high confidentiality, integrity, and availability effects.

3

Which component is implicated by the vulnerability?

The flaw is in parsing the Annotation author attribute. It is a use-after-free condition caused by failing to validate that an object exists before operating on it.

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