Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a malicious-PDF risk in older Foxit PDF Reader. If a user opens a crafted PDF, its title metadata can overflow memory and run code as that user. The bundle cites public exploit references, but does not show confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority where legacy Foxit Reader exists, especially on workstations handling external PDFs. The business risk is user-driven code execution from a document, with public exploit material available. Prioritize discovery and removal or upgrade of affected legacy installs.
Technical view
Foxit PDF Reader before 4.2.0.0928 improperly bounds-checks the PDF Info dictionary /Title entry. An overlong Title string can trigger a stack buffer overflow, corrupt SEH, and allow code execution in the opening user's context. The CVE maps to CWE-121 and CVSS 4.0 score 8.4.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to endpoints still running legacy Foxit PDF Reader versions before 4.2.0.0928. The affected-version metadata in the bundle is incomplete or inconsistent, so validate against installed product versions rather than relying only on CPE data.
Exploitation context
The attack requires user interaction: opening a specially crafted PDF. Public exploit references are cited, including Exploit-DB and a Metasploit module. KEV is false in the bundle, and no cited source confirms current active exploitation.
Researcher notes
Focus validation on version exposure and document-handling paths. The bundle supports public exploit availability, but not active exploitation. Avoid over-relying on the affected array because it lists version “0” and default unaffected despite the narrative stating before 4.2.0.0928.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Foxit PDF Reader to 4.2.0.0928 or later per vendor guidance.
- Remove unsupported legacy Foxit Reader installs from managed endpoints.
- Harden email and web controls for suspicious PDF attachments and downloads.
- Restrict risky file-opening workflows for users who handle untrusted documents.
- Check Foxit guidance for any additional vendor-recommended remediation.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints for Foxit PDF Reader installations and exact versions.
- Flag any Foxit Reader versions earlier than 4.2.0.0928.
- Confirm legacy Foxit is not the default PDF handler.
- Review EDR, email, and proxy alerts for suspicious PDF activity.
- Validate remediation through software inventory after upgrades or removals.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-121: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2010-20010 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.4 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.4HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/15532CVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16621CVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/windows/fileformat/foxit_title_bof.rbCVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/15514/CVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://www.foxit.com/pdf-reader/version-history.htmlCVE reference, VulnCheck · vendor-advisory, patch
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/foxit-pdf-reader-title-stack-buffer-overflowCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Stack-based Buffer Overflow
Stack-based Buffer Overflow represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.