CVE-2019-5005 in Foxit Reader
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF before 9.4 on Windows. They allowed Denial of Service (application crash) via image data, because two bytes are written to the end of the allocated memory without judging whether this will cause corruption.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/26/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-5005 represents a classic buffer overflow condition affecting Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF versions prior to 9.4 on Windows operating systems. This security flaw resides in the document processing engine's handling of image data within PDF files, specifically manifesting when the application attempts to write data beyond the bounds of allocated memory regions. The issue stems from insufficient boundary checking mechanisms that fail to validate whether additional data writing operations will exceed the allocated memory boundaries, creating a scenario where two bytes are written past the intended memory allocation without proper validation.
This vulnerability operates at the intersection of memory safety and input validation, categorizing under CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow and CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write within the Common Weakness Enumeration framework. The flaw demonstrates a fundamental lack of input sanitization and memory boundary enforcement during image processing operations, where the application's image parser does not adequately verify the size and structure of image data before attempting to store it in memory. The attack surface is particularly concerning as it involves the processing of potentially malicious PDF files containing crafted image data that can trigger the buffer overflow condition.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-5005 manifests as a denial of service condition that results in application crashes and system instability. When a user opens a specially crafted PDF file containing malicious image data, the application encounters a memory corruption event that causes it to terminate unexpectedly. This behavior can be exploited by attackers to disrupt legitimate user activities, potentially leading to productivity losses and service interruptions in enterprise environments where these applications are widely deployed. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous in automated processing scenarios where PDF files are handled without user interaction, as it can cause cascading failures in document management systems.
From an adversarial perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution, as it enables attackers to execute malicious code through the manipulation of document processing applications. The flaw can be leveraged to create a persistent denial of service condition that may prevent legitimate users from accessing critical documents or performing necessary work functions. Organizations using affected versions of Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF face significant risk exposure, as the vulnerability can be triggered through simple user interaction with malicious documents, requiring no additional privileges or complex attack vectors. The remediation strategy involves updating to Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF version 9.4 or later, which includes proper memory boundary checking and input validation mechanisms to prevent the out-of-bounds memory writes that trigger the application crashes.