# CVE-2018-18689: Other in n/a

> Attackers can bypass PDF signature validation via ByteRange and xref manipulations, affecting multiple PDF reader applications.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 7 Jan 2021
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-wmqc-jfc8-pfm5

## What is CVE-2018-18689?

CVE-2018-18689 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader, published on 7 Jan 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Portable Document Format (PDF) specification does not provide any information regarding the concrete procedure of how to validate signatures. Consequently, a Signature Wrapping vulnerability exists in multiple products. An attacker can use /ByteRange and xref manipulations that are not detected by the signature-validation logic. This affects Foxit Reader before 9.4 and PhantomPDF before 8.3.9 and 9.x before 9.4. It also affects eXpert PDF 12 Ultimate, Expert PDF Reader, Nitro Pro, Nitro Reader, PDF Architect 6, PDF Editor 6 Pro, PDF Experte 9 Ultimate, PDFelement6 Pro, PDF Studio Viewer 2018, PDF Studio Pro, PDF-XChange Editor and Viewer, Perfect PDF 10 Premium, Perfect PDF Reader, Soda PDF, and Soda PDF Desktop.

Weakness: CWE-347 (Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-18689?

It affects 17 products.


Products: Avanquest Expert Pdf Ultimate, Avanquest Pdf Experte Ultimate, Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader, Gonitro Nitro Pro, Gonitro Nitro Reader, Iskysoft Pdf Editor 6, Iskysoft Pdfelement6, Pdf-Xchange Pdf-Xchange Editor, Pdfforge Pdf Architect, Qoppa Pdf Studio, Qoppa Pdf Studio Viewer 2018, Sodapdf Soda Pdf, Sodapdf Soda Pdf Desktop, Soft-Xpansion Perfect Pdf 10, Soft-Xpansion Perfect Pdf Reader, Tracker-Software Pdf-Xchange Viewer, Visagesoft Expert Pdf Reader.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-18689?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-18689 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-18689 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-18689 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-18689 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-18689 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Foxitsoftware Foxit Reader, published on 7 Jan 2021. 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-2018-18689 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-2018-18689/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18689/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-18689
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-18689
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-18689

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-18689/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.