CVE-2023-33240

Local privilege escalation via hijackable service executable

Published May 19, 2023 · Updated Jan 21, 2025

Local privilege escalation in Foxit PDF Reader and PDF Editor on Windows allows local users to execute code with SYSTEM privileges. A non-default installation leaves the executable registered to a system service accessible to normal users, allowing the service binary to be hijacked. A low-privileged Windows account and the non-default path are required; the hijacked executable runs with the service's system-level permissions.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.16%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Local privilege escalation in Foxit PDF Reader and PDF Editor on Windows allows local users to execute code with SYSTEM privileges. A non-default installation leaves the executable registered to a system service accessible to normal users, allowing the service binary to be hijacked. A low-privileged Windows account and the non-default path are required; the hijacked executable runs with the service's system-level permissions.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-33240
Published
May 19, 2023
Updated
Jan 21, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-276, T1574.010
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 19, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 21, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.8CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-276Incorrect Default Permissions
T1574.010Services File Permissions Weakness

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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