Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a critical legacy Foxit Reader browser plugin issue. A specially crafted remote PDF URL can trigger a stack buffer overflow after user interaction, potentially allowing code execution. Public exploit references exist, but the provided sources do not show confirmed active exploitation or a vendor fix path.
Executive priority
Treat as urgent for environments with legacy Foxit Reader plugins. The issue enables potential remote code execution after user interaction and has public exploit references. If the plugin is absent or retired, business exposure is likely much lower.
Technical view
The vulnerability is described in npFoxitReaderPlugin.dll, Foxit Reader Plugin 2.2.1.530 bundled with Foxit Reader 5.4.4.11281. An overly long URL query string when loading a remote PDF can cause a CWE-121 stack-based buffer overflow with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Windows endpoints still running legacy Foxit Reader versions with the affected browser plugin enabled. The bundle’s affected-version metadata is inconsistent, so validate against installed product and plugin versions rather than relying only on CPE data.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as KEV in the supplied bundle. Public exploit references are cited by Rapid7 and Exploit-DB, which raises practical risk, but the provided evidence does not establish active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
Source evidence supports a stack overflow in the Foxit Reader browser plugin URL handling path. The affected metadata in the bundle conflicts with the narrative description, so version confirmation is important. Do not claim active exploitation without KEV or another cited source.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Foxit Reader and browser plugin versions across managed endpoints.
- Remove or disable legacy Foxit browser plugin exposure where feasible.
- Check Foxit guidance for vendor-confirmed fixed versions or supported upgrade paths.
- Prioritize endpoints that browse untrusted sites or open PDFs from external links.
- Use endpoint controls to reduce exposure to untrusted browser plugins.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether npFoxitReaderPlugin.dll exists on endpoints.
- Record Foxit Reader and plugin versions from software inventory.
- Check whether browsers can load the Foxit Reader plugin.
- Review vulnerability scanner findings from Tenable or equivalent sources.
- Correlate exposure with users handling external PDFs or web links.
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-2013-10068 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
- Critical
- CVSS
- 9.4 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
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:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H——VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
9.4CriticalVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
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://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/windows/browser/foxit_reader_plugin_url_bof.rbCVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/23944CVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/24502CVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://www.tenable.com/plugins/nessus/64094CVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/foxit-reader-plugin-url-processing-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.