VulnerabilityPublished 30 Apr 2024Updated 16 Dec 2025

CVE-2024-25648: Foxit Reader · Use After Free

Affects Foxit ReaderSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · 15% EPSS · CVSS 8.8 High.

Data as of 5 Nov 2026, 00:01 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 15.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 96% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 30 Apr 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 5 Nov 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Foxit Foxit Reader	Affected =2024.1.0.23997	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-25648 effectively, European organizations should: 1) Monitor Foxit’s official channels closely for patches and apply updates immediately once available. 2) Disable JavaScript execution within Foxit Reader settings to prevent malicious script execution embedded in PDFs. 3) Remove or disable the Foxit Reader browser plugin extension to eliminate the drive-by exploitation vector. 4) Implement strict email filtering and attachment scanning to block or quarantine suspicious PDF files. 5) Educate users about the risks of opening unsolicited or unexpected PDF attachments and visiting untrusted websites. 6) Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of detecting anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. 7) Use application whitelisting to restrict execution of unauthorized code. 8) Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing focusing on PDF handling applications. These measures go beyond generic advice by targeting the specific exploitation vectors and reducing the attack surface related to Foxit Reader usage.

Description

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in the way Foxit Reader 2024.1.0.23997 handles a ComboBox widget. A specially crafted JavaScript code inside a malicious PDF document can trigger reuse of a previously freed object, which can lead to memory corruption and result in arbitrary code execution. An attacker needs to trick the user into opening the malicious file to trigger this vulnerability. Exploitation is also possible if a user visits a specially crafted, malicious site if the browser plugin extension is enabled.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2024-25648 can be severe. Foxit Reader is widely used across enterprises, government agencies, and critical infrastructure sectors for handling PDF documents. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized code execution, resulting in data breaches, ransomware deployment, or disruption of business-critical processes. The vulnerability affects confidentiality by enabling attackers to access sensitive information, integrity by allowing modification or corruption of data, and availability by potentially causing application or system crashes. Organizations with heavy reliance on PDF workflows, such as legal, financial, healthcare, and public administration sectors, face elevated risks. The requirement for user interaction means phishing or social engineering campaigns could be leveraged to deliver malicious PDFs. Additionally, if the browser plugin is enabled, drive-by attacks via malicious websites become possible, increasing the attack surface. The absence of known exploits currently provides a window for proactive mitigation, but the high CVSS score indicates that once exploited, the consequences could be critical.

CWE-416Use After Free (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #7
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 23 Dec 2025, 17:17 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-416

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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