How severe is CVE-2018-18688?

CVE-2018-18688 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is low, integrity none, and availability none.

Is CVE-2018-18688 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (63rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2018-18688?

CVE-2018-18688 primarily affects Code-industry Master Pdf Editor. In total, 29 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2018-18688?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2018-18688 published?

CVE-2018-18688 was published on 2021-01-07 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2018-18688

CVE-2018-18688 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Code-industry Master Pdf Editor with a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-347.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 5.3)
CVSS v2: 5.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (63rd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-347
Affected product: Code-industry Master Pdf Editor
Published: 2021-01-07
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

The Portable Document Format (PDF) specification does not provide any information regarding the concrete procedure of how to validate signatures. Consequently, an Incremental Saving vulnerability exists in multiple products. When an attacker uses the Incremental Saving feature to add pages or annotations, Body Updates are displayed to the user without any action 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 LibreOffice, Master PDF Editor, Nitro Pro, Nitro Reader, Nuance Power PDF Standard, PDF Editor 6 Pro, PDFelement6 Pro, PDF Studio Viewer 2018, PDF Studio Pro, Perfect PDF 10 Premium, and Perfect PDF Reader.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-18688?: The Portable Document Format (PDF) specification does not provide any information regarding the concrete procedure of how to validate signatures. Consequently, an Incremental Saving vulnerability exists in multiple products. When an attacker uses the Incremental Saving feature to add pages or annotations, Body Updates are displayed to the user without any action 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 LibreOffice, Master PDF Editor, Nitro Pro, Nitro Reader, Nuance Power PDF Standard, PDF Editor 6 Pro, PDFelement6 Pro, PDF Studio Viewer 2018, PDF Studio Pro, Perfect PDF 10 Premium, and Perfect PDF Reader.
How severe is CVE-2018-18688?: CVE-2018-18688 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 5.3, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is low, integrity none, and availability none.
Is CVE-2018-18688 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (63rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2018-18688?: CVE-2018-18688 primarily affects Code-industry Master Pdf Editor. In total, 29 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2018-18688?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2018-18688 published?: CVE-2018-18688 was published on 2021-01-07 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (29)

cpe:2.3:a:code-industry:master_pdf_editor:5.1.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:code-industry:master_pdf_editor:5.1.68:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:foxitsoftware:foxit_reader:9.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:foxitsoftware:phantompdf:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:foxitsoftware:phantompdf:8.3.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gonitro:nitro_pro:11.0.3.173:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:gonitro:nitro_reader:5.5.9.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:iskysoft:pdf_editor_6:6.4.2.3521:*:*:*:professional:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:iskysoft:pdfelement6:6.8.0.3523:*:*:*:professional:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:iskysoft:pdfelement6:6.8.4.3921:*:*:*:professional:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:libreoffice:libreoffice:6.0.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:libreoffice:libreoffice:6.1.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:nuance:power_pdf_standard:3.0.0.17:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:nuance:power_pdf_standard:3.0.0.30:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:nuance:power_pdf_standard:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:qoppa:pdf_studio:12.0.7:*:*:*:professional:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:qoppa:pdf_studio_viewer_2018:2018.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:qoppa:pdf_studio_viewer_2018:2018.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:soft-xpansion:perfect_pdf_10:10.0.0.1:*:*:*:premium:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:soft-xpansion:perfect_pdf_reader:13.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:soft-xpansion:perfect_pdf_reader:13.1.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:foxitsoftware:foxit_reader:9.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:foxitsoftware:foxit_reader:9.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:code-industry:master_pdf_editor:5.1.24:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:iskysoft:pdf_editor_6:6.6.2.3315:*:*:*:professional:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:iskysoft:pdf_editor_6:6.7.6.3399:*:*:*:professional:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:iskysoft:pdfelement6:6.7.1.3355:*:*:*:professional:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:iskysoft:pdfelement6:6.7.6.3399:*:*:*:professional:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:libreoffice:libreoffice:6.1.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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