9.3 High
CVSS2
Access Vector
NETWORK
Access Complexity
MEDIUM
Authentication
NONE
Confidentiality Impact
COMPLETE
Integrity Impact
COMPLETE
Availability Impact
COMPLETE
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
0.97 High
EPSS
Percentile
99.7%
The Doc.media.newPlayer
method in Adobe Acrobat and Reader contains a use-after-free vulnerability, which may allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.
Adobe Reader and the Adobe Acrobat family of software are designed to create, view, and edit Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Adobe Reader is widely deployed, and the Acrobat Reader Plug-In displays PDF inside a web browser.
Adobe Reader and Acrobat support JavaScript. The newplayer() method of the Doc.media object contains a use-after-free vulnerability, which can result in an exploitable memory access violation. This vulnerability is currently being exploited in the wild. Exploit code for this vulnerability is publicly available.
By convincing a user to open a malicious PDF file, an attacker may be able to execute code or cause a vulnerable PDF viewer to crash. The PDF could be emailed as an attachment or hosted on a website.
Apply an update
This issue is addressed in Adobe Reader 9.3 and 8.2. Please see Adobe Security Bulletin APSB10-02 for details. Please also consider the following workarounds:
Enable Data Execution Prevention (DEP) in Microsoft Windows
Consider enabling Data Execution Prevention (DEP) in supported versions of Windows. DEP should not be treated as a complete workaround, but it can help mitigate the execution of attacker-supplied code in some cases. Microsoft has published detailed technical information about DEP in Security Research & Defense blog posts “Understanding DEP as a mitigation technology” part 1 and part 2. Use of DEP should be considered in conjunction with the application of patches or other mitigations described in this document**.**
Disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader and Acrobat
Disabling JavaScript prevents these vulnerabilities from being exploited and reduces attack surface. If this workaround is applied to updated versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat, it may protect against future vulnerabilities.
To disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader:
Edit
menu.Preferences...
option.JavaScript
section.Enable Acrobat JavaScript
checkbox.Prevent Internet Explorer from automatically opening PDF documents
The installer for Adobe Reader and Acrobat configures Internet Explorer to automatically open PDF files without any user interaction. This behavior can be reverted to the safer option of prompting the user by importing the following as a .REG file:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AcroExch.Document.7]
"EditFlags"=hex:00,00,00,00
Disable the displaying of PDF documents in the web browser
Preventing PDF documents from opening inside a web browser reduces attack surface. If this workaround is applied to updated versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat, it may protect against future vulnerabilities.
To prevent PDF documents from automatically being opened in a web browser with Adobe Reader:
Edit
menu.Preferences...
option.Internet
section.Display PDF in browser
checkbox.newPlayer()
method through use of the Adobe Reader and Acrobat JavaScript Blacklist Framework. Windows users can obtain a ZIP file of .REG files that disable the newPlayer()
method of the Doc.media object. Upon opening a PDF that attempts to use this method, Adobe Reader and Acrobat will warn the user that a JavaScript that the document uses is disabled for security reasons. Mac and Linux users should see the Blacklist Framework document for details about how to implement the workaround.508357
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Javascript is disabled. Click here to view vendors.
Notified: December 15, 2009 Updated: January 13, 2010
Affected
We have not received a statement from the vendor.
This issue is addressed in Adobe Reader 9.3 and 8.2. Please see Adobe Security Bulletin APSB10-02 for details.
Group | Score | Vector |
---|---|---|
Base | ||
Temporal | ||
Environmental |
Thanks to Adobe PSIRT for reporting this vulnerability.
This document was written by Will Dormann.
CVE IDs: | CVE-2009-4324 |
---|---|
Severity Metric: | 65.84 Date Public: |
blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2009/12/new_adobe_reader_and_acrobat_v.html
kb2.adobe.com/cps/532/cpsid_53237.html
osvdb.org/show/osvdb/60980
secunia.com/advisories/37690/
voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/12/hackers_target_unpatched_adobe.html
vrt-sourcefire.blogspot.com/2009/12/this-is-what-happens-when-you-try-to-do.html
www.adobe.com/support/security/advisories/apsa09-07.html
www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/zero-day-xmas-present