Actively exploited vulnerability
Adobe Acrobat and Reader: memory corruption flaw under attack
CVE-2009-3459 · Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
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 a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability which could allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF file that triggers memory corruption.
What an attacker can do
This is a memory corruption flaw. It lets an attacker corrupt the program's memory by feeding it specially crafted content: a web page, a file or a network message. The result ranges from a crash to the attacker running their own code.
- How it is reached
- Over the internet or network
- Access the attacker needs
- No account needed
- Does the victim have to do something?
- Yes, the victim must open or click something
What to do
- 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.
- Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
- If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Vendor advisories and fixes
- web.archive.orgweb.archive.org/web/20120324170253/http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-
How urgent is it
CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on May 20, 2026, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by June 3, 2026, 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 87% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.7% of all scored vulnerabilities.
Its CVSS severity score is 8.8 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.
Technical description
Heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 7.x before 7.1.4, 8.x before 8.1.7, and 9.x before 9.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF file that triggers memory corruption, as exploited in the wild in October 2009. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.