Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-31448 is an information disclosure flaw in Foxit Reader 10.1.1.37576. A victim must open a malicious PDF or visit a malicious page. On its own, the issue is low severity, but sources note it could support code execution when combined with other vulnerabilities.
Executive priority
Treat this as routine patch hygiene unless the organization has high exposure to untrusted PDFs. It is not currently evidenced as actively exploited, but outdated PDF readers remain useful targets when attackers chain document parsing bugs.
Technical view
The flaw is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Foxit Reader's handling of U3D objects embedded in PDFs. Improper validation of user-supplied data can cause a read past an allocated object, exposing limited process information. CVSS is 3.3 with user interaction required and confidentiality impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to environments still running Foxit Reader 10.1.1.37576 and allowing users to open untrusted PDFs or web-delivered PDF content. The source bundle does not identify other Foxit products or versions as affected.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked as KEV. Exploitation requires user interaction. ZDI notes attackers could pair this issue with other vulnerabilities to pursue arbitrary code execution in the current process context.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description, Foxit reference, and ZDI advisory metadata. No exploit details, fixed version, or confirmed exploitation are provided in the source bundle. Avoid broad product assumptions beyond Foxit Reader 10.1.1.37576.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Foxit Reader installations for version 10.1.1.37576.
- Apply Foxit security bulletin guidance or upgrade through supported Foxit channels.
- Limit opening of untrusted PDFs from email, downloads, and web pages.
- Use endpoint controls to reduce exposure to malicious document files.
Validation and detection
- Confirm no endpoints are running Foxit Reader 10.1.1.37576.
- Verify Foxit Reader is updated according to vendor security guidance.
- Review security telemetry for suspicious PDF files opened by Foxit Reader.
- Check document-handling controls for untrusted PDFs and browser-delivered files.
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-125: 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-2021-31448 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.3 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A: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.
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:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N1.81.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
3.3LowVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.foxitsoftware.com/support/security-bulletins.phpCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-537/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.