CVE-2024-30346 in Foxit
Summary
by MITRE • 04/03/2024
Foxit PDF Reader AcroForm Use-After-Free Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit PDF Reader. 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 handling of Doc objects in AcroForms. 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 in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-22745.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/08/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-30346 represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Foxit PDF Reader's handling of AcroForm objects within PDF documents. This remote code execution vulnerability specifically targets the document object model processing within the PDF reader application, where improper memory management allows attackers to manipulate object references after they have been freed from memory. The flaw resides in the AcroForm processing subsystem which manages interactive form elements in PDF documents, making it particularly dangerous as it can be triggered through standard PDF document interactions.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the Doc object handling mechanism of Foxit's PDF reader implementation. When processing maliciously crafted PDF files containing specially constructed AcroForm elements, the application fails to properly validate whether referenced objects still exist in memory before attempting operations on them. This lack of proper object lifetime validation creates a use-after-free condition where an attacker can overwrite freed memory with malicious data, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability operates at the memory management level, specifically within the PDF parser's object reference handling, making it particularly challenging to detect and exploit reliably.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple remote code execution, as it enables attackers to gain full control over the target system running Foxit PDF Reader. Since exploitation requires user interaction through visiting malicious web pages or opening malicious files, the attack surface includes web browsing, email attachments, and document sharing scenarios where users might encounter crafted PDF content. The vulnerability affects the current process context, meaning that successful exploitation could result in privilege escalation depending on the user's permissions and the application's execution environment. This represents a significant threat vector for enterprise environments where PDF readers are commonly used for document processing and collaboration.
Security professionals should implement immediate mitigations including disabling PDF preview features in web browsers, updating to patched versions of Foxit PDF Reader, and deploying network-based intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-416, which describes use-after-free conditions, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1203 for exploitation of software vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies to restrict execution of untrusted PDF content and ensure proper patch management procedures are in place to address similar vulnerabilities in other PDF processing libraries. Regular security assessments of document processing applications remain essential to identify and remediate similar memory corruption vulnerabilities that could provide attackers with similar privilege escalation opportunities.