Actively exploited vulnerability
Adobe Reader and Acrobat: memory corruption flaw under attack
CVE-2013-0640 · Adobe Reader and Acrobat Memory Corruption Vulnerability
What is affected
Adobe Reader and Acrobat 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.
An memory corruption vulnerability exists in the acroform.dll in Adobe Reader that allows an attacker to perform remote code execution.
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
- 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
What to do
- Update Adobe Reader and Acrobat 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 updates per vendor instructions.
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 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 7.8 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.
Technical description
Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x before 9.5.4, 10.x before 10.1.6, and 11.x before 11.0.02 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted PDF document, as exploited in the wild in February 2013.