VulnerabilityPublished 13 Aug 2025Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2025-32451: Foxit Reader · Access of Uninitialized Pointer

Affects Foxit ReaderSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.8High

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

EPSS: 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 48% 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 13 Aug 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: 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 26 Oct 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.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, 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 =2025.1.0.27937	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Immediately disable JavaScript execution within Foxit Reader settings to prevent automatic script execution in PDFs.
Disable or uninstall the Foxit Reader browser plugin to eliminate the web-based attack vector.
Restrict user permissions to run Foxit Reader with least privilege to limit potential damage from exploitation.
Implement network-level protections such as web filtering to block access to known malicious sites and sandbox PDF files before opening.
Educate users to avoid opening PDFs from untrusted or unknown sources and to be cautious with links to PDF files in emails or websites.
Monitor vendor communications closely and apply security patches as soon as they become available.
Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts.
Use application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized execution of code spawned by exploitation.
Conduct regular security awareness training emphasizing the risks of malicious documents and browser plugins.
Consider alternative PDF readers with a better security track record until patches are released.

Description

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in Foxit Reader 2025.1.0.27937 due to the use of an uninitialized pointer. A specially crafted Javascript code inside a malicious PDF document can trigger this vulnerability, 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-2025-32451 is substantial. Successful exploitation can lead to arbitrary code execution, enabling attackers to steal sensitive data, manipulate documents, install malware, or disrupt operations. This is particularly critical for sectors such as finance, government, healthcare, and critical infrastructure, where document exchange and PDF usage are frequent. The vulnerability’s ability to be triggered via malicious websites increases the attack surface, especially in organizations that allow browser plugins or have less restrictive browsing policies. Confidentiality breaches could expose personal and corporate data, integrity violations could alter critical documents, and availability impacts could disrupt business continuity. Given the high CVSS score and the widespread use of Foxit Reader in Europe, the threat could facilitate targeted attacks or widespread malware campaigns if exploited at scale. The lack of current known exploits provides a window for proactive defense but also means attackers may develop exploits soon after disclosure.

CWE-824Access of Uninitialized Pointer (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized.
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 4 Nov 2025, 02:12 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-824

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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