CVE-2018-7406 in Foxit Reader
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Foxit Reader before 9.1 and PhantomPDF before 9.1. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code. 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 u3d images inside of a pdf. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied data, which can result in an array indexing issue. An attacker can leverage this to execute code in the context of the current process.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/15/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-7406 represents a critical remote code execution flaw affecting Foxit Reader versions prior to 9.1 and PhantomPDF versions prior to 9.1. This security weakness resides within the handling of u3d images embedded within pdf documents, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited through web-based attacks. The vulnerability requires user interaction to be successfully exploited, meaning that targets must either visit a malicious webpage or open a crafted malicious file containing the vulnerable u3d content. The underlying technical flaw manifests as improper validation of user-supplied data during the processing of three-dimensional graphics within pdf documents, creating a condition where array indexing operations can be manipulated by malicious actors. This specific weakness aligns with CWE-129, which addresses insufficient validation of array index values, and represents a classic buffer overflow scenario where attacker-controlled data can influence memory access patterns. The vulnerability's exploitation potential stems from the fact that u3d image processing within pdf readers typically involves complex parsing operations that may not adequately validate the bounds of arrays used to store graphical data. When a user opens a malicious pdf containing specially crafted u3d elements, the reader's parsing routine attempts to access memory locations beyond the intended array boundaries, potentially allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the running application process. This represents a significant threat vector in enterprise environments where pdf documents are frequently opened and shared, as the attack can be delivered through email attachments, web downloads, or document sharing platforms without requiring advanced technical knowledge from the attacker. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple code execution to potentially enable full system compromise, as the executed code operates within the context of the vulnerable application's process, which may have elevated privileges depending on the system configuration. Organizations utilizing these pdf reading applications should immediately implement patch management procedures to upgrade to versions 9.1 or later where this vulnerability has been addressed. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing content filtering solutions that can identify and block pdf documents containing suspicious u3d elements, while security teams should monitor for potential exploitation attempts through network traffic analysis and endpoint detection systems. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution technique, as it leverages a client-side application vulnerability to execute malicious code, and may also map to T1059 - Command and Scripting Interpreter if the executed code includes command shell operations. This vulnerability highlights the ongoing challenge of securing rich media content within document formats and demonstrates the importance of robust input validation and memory safety practices in software development, particularly for applications that process complex multimedia elements within documents.