CVE-2018-14303 in Foxit
Summary
by MITRE
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Foxit Reader 9.0.1.5096. 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 processing of StrikeOut annotations. By manipulating a document's elements, an attacker can cause a pointer to be reused after it has been freed. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code under the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-6219.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/12/2020
CVE-2018-14303 represents a critical heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Foxit Reader version 9.0.1.5096 that falls under the CWE-416 vulnerability category, specifically related to use after free conditions. This vulnerability resides within the StrikeOut annotation processing functionality of the PDF reader, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered through standard PDF document manipulation. The flaw occurs when the application processes maliciously crafted StrikeOut annotations that contain specially constructed data structures, leading to improper memory management where a pointer is dereferenced after being freed from memory. This use after free condition creates a predictable memory corruption scenario that allows attackers to manipulate the program's execution flow.
The exploitation of this vulnerability requires user interaction through either visiting a malicious webpage that hosts a crafted PDF document or opening a malicious file directly, which aligns with the ATT&CK technique T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution. The attack vector leverages the PDF processing engine's failure to properly validate annotation data structures, particularly those related to StrikeOut elements that define strikethrough text annotations in PDF documents. When the vulnerable application processes these annotations, it fails to properly manage memory allocation and deallocation sequences, creating opportunities for attackers to overwrite critical memory locations with malicious code payloads.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution, as it allows attackers to gain arbitrary code execution within the context of the currently running Foxit Reader process. This presents significant security implications since PDF readers typically run with elevated privileges when processing user documents, potentially enabling attackers to escalate their privileges or access sensitive system resources. The vulnerability affects the application's memory management subsystem and can be exploited to overwrite function pointers, return addresses, or other critical program data structures, making it a prime candidate for privilege escalation attacks or remote code execution scenarios.
Organizations and users should implement immediate mitigations including updating to the latest version of Foxit Reader where this vulnerability has been patched, as well as implementing strict document filtering policies that prevent the automatic execution of potentially malicious PDF content. Network-based protections should include content inspection systems that can detect and block malicious PDF documents containing suspicious StrikeOut annotation structures, while endpoint protection solutions should monitor for abnormal memory access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper memory management practices and input validation in document processing applications, emphasizing the need for robust software security testing and code review processes to identify similar use after free conditions in similar software components.