CVE-2021-38570

An issue was discovered in Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF before 10.1.4

published August 11, 2021

CVSS
—
EPSS
1%
Percentile
67.1
In the wild
Unconfirmed
What it is

⚠️ A sneaky symlink could let attackers delete any file on your system during uninstallation! Yikes! 🔥 Think of it like a janitor holding a trash bag that can access and toss out anything in the office just because they have a master key — if they're too careless or malicious, you could lose important files! If exploited, this vulnerability can lead to the deletion of critical files during the uninstallation of Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF, potentially causing chaos and data loss. Imagine the frustration of losing work documents or important data that were thought to be safe and sound!

Put simply

Think of it like a janitor holding a trash bag that can access and toss out anything in the office just because they have a master key — if they're too careless or malicious, you could lose important files! The issue arises from a symlink vulnerability during the uninstallation process, which allows an attacker to trick the application into deleting files that shouldn't be affected. This happens because the application doesn't properly validate the symlink before performing the deletion operation.

What to do

If exploited, this vulnerability can lead to the deletion of critical files during the uninstallation of Foxit Reader or PhantomPDF, potentially causing chaos and data loss. Imagine the frustration of losing work documents or important data that were thought to be safe and sound! To protect yourself, ensure you update Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF to version 10.1.4 or later immediately. Always monitor your system for untrusted applications and avoid unnecessary installations of software that could introduce vulnerabilities. You’ve got this! Stay vigilant and keep your software up-to-date to safeguard your files. 🛡️

The record
Technical detail
CVSS
Not scored
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.01166 · 67.1th percentile
Published
2021-08-11T21:14Z
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 11 AUG 21:14Z
    An issue was discovered in Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF before 10.1.4
    cvelistv5