Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A malicious PDF or web page could cause affected Foxit PDF Reader installations to run attacker-controlled code. The attacker needs the user to open the file or visit the page, so exposure is mainly workstation and email/web-document risk.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority desktop software remediation issue, especially in document-heavy business units. It requires user interaction, but successful exploitation could compromise the user’s workstation with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Technical view
Foxit PDF Reader 11.0.0.49893 mishandles Annotation objects. Missing validation that an object exists before operating on it can cause a CWE-416 use-after-free condition, enabling code execution in the current process after user interaction.
Likely exposure
Endpoints running Foxit PDF Reader 11.0.0.49893 are the known exposure. Risk is higher for users who receive external PDFs, browse untrusted sites, or handle customer, legal, finance, or HR documents.
Exploitation context
The provided sources support remote code execution with required user interaction. CISA KEV status is false, and the source bundle does not state active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
ZDI identifies the issue as ZDI-CAN-14033 and describes the vulnerable area as Annotation object handling. The bundle does not provide exploit details, a fixed version, or vendor mitigation text beyond the Foxit bulletin reference.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Foxit PDF Reader versions across managed endpoints.
- Check Foxit security bulletins for the vendor-designated fixed or supported release.
- Update or replace affected Foxit PDF Reader 11.0.0.49893 installations per vendor guidance.
- Limit opening PDFs from untrusted sources until remediation is complete.
- Use endpoint controls to contain PDF reader process compromise where available.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any endpoint reports Foxit PDF Reader 11.0.0.49893.
- Verify remediated systems no longer run the affected version.
- Review email and web controls for external PDF attachment handling.
- Check vulnerability scanner coverage for CVE-2021-34844.
- Document exceptions where Foxit cannot be immediately updated.
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-416: 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-2021-34844 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
- 7.8 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A: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.
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:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.foxit.com/support/security-bulletins.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-926/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.