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Actively exploited vulnerability

Adobe Acrobat and Reader: improper access control flaw under attack

CVE-2008-2992 · Adobe Reader and Acrobat Input Validation Vulnerability

Concerns everyone who uses it7.8 highUsed in ransomware attacks

What is affected

Adobe Acrobat and Reader is found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use it and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.

Adobe Acrobat and Reader contain an input validation issue in a JavaScript method that could potentially lead to remote code execution.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a improper access control flaw. It lets an attacker perform actions or reach data that should be restricted to authorised users.

How it is reached
Needs access to the device or a file opened on it
Access the attacker needs
No account needed
Does the victim have to do something?
Yes, the victim must open or click something

CISA records this vulnerability as known to be used in ransomware campaigns: attackers use it to get in, then encrypt files and demand payment.

What to do

  1. Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
  2. Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
  3. If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on March 3, 2022, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by March 24, 2022, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 98% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.9% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 7.8 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

Stack-based buffer overflow in Adobe Acrobat and Reader 8.1.2 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a PDF file that calls the util.printf JavaScript function with a crafted format string argument, a related issue to CVE-2008-1104.

NIST National Vulnerability Database
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