CVE-2026-57239

SYSTEM privilege escalation via updater DLL hijacking

Published Jul 8, 2026 · Updated Jul 8, 2026

Local privilege escalation in Foxit PDF Reader and PDF Editor for Windows allows local users to gain SYSTEM rights during update checks. The Foxit update service loads and executes a user-controllable DLL through an uncontrolled search-path element while running with elevated privileges. The attack requires local access, a writable searched location, and an update check; successful execution runs as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM.

CVSS severity8.2
High
EPSS probability0.17%
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 for Windows allows local users to gain SYSTEM rights during update checks. The Foxit update service loads and executes a user-controllable DLL through an uncontrolled search-path element while running with elevated privileges. The attack requires local access, a writable searched location, and an update check; successful execution runs as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-57239
Published
Jul 8, 2026
Updated
Jul 8, 2026
Vendor
Foxit Software
Product
Foxit PDF Reader
Classifications
CWE-427, CAPEC-38, CAPEC-471, T1574.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 8, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jul 8, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Versions 2026.1.1 and earlier

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Foxit Software · Foxit PDF Readerversion=Versions 2026.1.1 and earlier
Foxit Software · Foxit PDF Editorversion=Versions 13.2.4 and earlier; version=Versions 14.0.4 and earlier; version=Versions 2026.1.1 and earlier

Published CVSS scores

8.2Foxit Software Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
7.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path Element
CAPEC-38Leveraging/Manipulating Configuration File Search Paths
CAPEC-471Search Order Hijacking
T1574.001DLL Search Order Hijacking

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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