CVSS2
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Authentication
NONE
Confidentiality Impact
COMPLETE
Integrity Impact
COMPLETE
Availability Impact
COMPLETE
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
EPSS
Percentile
97.1%
Adobe Reader and Acrobat contain an unspecified flaw in a JavaScript method, which can allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute code on a vulnerable system.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is software designed to view Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Adobe also distributes the Adobe Acrobat Plug-In to allow users to view PDF files inside of a web browser. According to Adobe security bulletin APSB08-15, Adobe Reader and Acrobat fail to properly validate input to a JavaScript method, which can allow an attacker to take control of an affected system.
Adobe indicates that this issue is being exploited in the wild.
By convincing a user to open a specially-crafted PDF file, a remote, unauthenticated attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code. This can happen in several ways, such as opening an email attachment or viewing a web page.
Apply an update
This issue is addressed in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 8.1.2 Security Update 1 and also version 7.1.0. Please see Adobe security bulletin APSB08-15 for more details.
Disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader and Acrobat
Disabling Javascript may prevent this vulnerability from being exploited. Acrobat JavaScript can be disabled in the General preferences dialog (Edit
-> Preferences
-> JavaScript
and un-check Enable Acrobat JavaScript
).
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 may mitigate this vulnerability. If this workaround is applied to updated versions of the Adobe reader, it may mitigate future vulnerabilities.
To prevent PDF documents from automatically being opened in a web browser:
Edit
menu.preferences
option.Internet
section."``Display PDF in browser``"
check box.Ubuntu users and administrators can prevent Adobe Reader from automatically opening PDF files inside their web browser by removing the mozilla-acroread package.
Do not open untrusted PDF files
788019
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Updated: June 25, 2008
Affected
We have not received a statement from the vendor.
The vendor has not provided us with any further information regarding this vulnerability.
This issue is addressed in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 8.1.2 Security Update 1 and also version 7.1.0. Please see Adobe security bulletin APSB08-15 for more details.
If you have feedback, comments, or additional information about this vulnerability, please send us [email](<mailto:[email protected]?Subject=VU%23788019 Feedback>).
Group | Score | Vector |
---|---|---|
Base | ||
Temporal | ||
Environmental |
This vulnerability was reported by Adobe, who in turn credit the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
This document was written by Will Dormann.
CVE IDs: | CVE-2008-2641 |
---|---|
Severity Metric: | 21.55 Date Public: |