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CVE-2016-8856· NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

Foxit Reader for Mac 2.1.0.0804 and earlier and Foxit Reader for Linux 2.1.0.0805 and earlier suffered from a vulnerability where weak file

Foxit Reader for Mac 2.1.0.0804 and earlier and Foxit Reader for Linux 2.1.0.0805 and earlier suffered from a vulnerability where weak file permissions could be exploited by attackers to execute arbitrary code. After the installation, Foxit Reader's core files were world-writable by default, allowing an attacker to overwrite them with backdoor code, which when executed by privileged user would result in Privilege Escalation, Code Execution, or both.

HighCVSS 7.8 · v3.0—No exploit No fix recorded
Published
Oct 31, 2016
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.8% · 56th percentile
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Action score

31

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.8%

Affected systems

VendorProduct
foxitsoftwarereader

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • foxitsoftware readerup to 2.1.0.0804 inclusive
  • foxitsoftware readerup to 2.1.0.0805 inclusive

Same product

foxitsoftware: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2009-0836Foxit Reader 2.3 before Build 3902 and 3.0 before Build 1506, including 1120 and 1301, does not require user confirmation before performing
    52Plan
  • CVE-2020-8844This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit Reader 9.6.0.25114.
    38Monitor
  • CVE-2020-8856This vulnerability allows remote atackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit PhantomPDF 9.6.0.25608.
    37Monitor
  • CVE-2020-8846This vulnerability allows remote atackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit PhantomPDF 9.6.0.25114.
    37Monitor
  • CVE-2020-8845This vulnerability allows remote atackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of Foxit PhantomPDF 9.6.0.25114.
    37Monitor
  • CVE-2018-17621This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Foxit Reader 9.0.1.5096.
    36Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

No commit or PR link among the references.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
high · data can be read
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
high · the service can be disrupted
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
High
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
High

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-275 · Permission Issues

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.

Noroxi analysis

No Noroxi analysis for this record yet

We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.

We use this product, ask for help

Change log

No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records