TecSecurity Vulnerability Research

Published advisory · ZDI-16-394

Foxit Reader FlateDecode Use-After-Free Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Published Rocco Calvi
CVSS severity 6.8/ 10.0 · Medium AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Vulnerability analysis

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Foxit 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 FlateDecode. A specially crafted PDF with a FlateDecode stream can force a dangling pointer to be reused after it has been freed. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process.

Disclosure timeline

  1. Vulnerability reported to vendor
  2. Coordinated public release of advisory

References