CVE-2020-17414: Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader

High severity, CVSS 7.8. EPSS: 2.6% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Foxit Reader 10.0.0.35798. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the handling of the configuration files used by the Foxit Reader Update Service. The issue results from incorrect permissions set on a resource used by the service. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-11229.

Affected products

• Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader: up to and including 10.0.1.35811
• Foxitsoftware Phantompdf: up to and including 10.0.1.35811

Published 2020-10-13. Last modified 2026-06-17.