# CVE-2016-4060: Use after free in n/a

> Remote attackers can cause a denial of service via a use-after-free vulnerability in Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF on Windows.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 22 Apr 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r5jp-8mpf-h3q2

## What is CVE-2016-4060?

CVE-2016-4060 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader, published on 22 Apr 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Use-after-free vulnerability in Foxit Reader and PhantomPDF before 7.3.4 on Windows allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via unspecified vectors.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-4060?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader, Foxitsoftware Phantompdf.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-4060?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-4060 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-4060 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-4060 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader

- [CVE-2021-33793](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-33793/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-38568](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38568/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-38572](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38572/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-38573](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38573/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-38574](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38574/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-4060 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-4060 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader, published on 22 Apr 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-4060 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4060/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4060/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-4060
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-4060
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-4060

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-4060/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.