CVE-2009-2987 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in an ActiveX control in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 7.x before 7.1.4, 8.x before 8.1.7, and 9.x before 9.2 on Windows allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via unknown vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/24/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-2987 represents a critical security flaw within Adobe Reader and Acrobat software versions prior to specific patch releases. This issue affects multiple product lines including Adobe Reader 7.x versions before 7.1.4, Adobe Acrobat 8.x versions before 8.1.7, and Adobe Reader 9.x versions before 9.2 on Windows operating systems. The vulnerability resides within an ActiveX control component that forms part of Adobe's document processing architecture, creating a potential attack surface that could be exploited by malicious actors to compromise system availability.
The technical nature of this vulnerability manifests through unspecified attack vectors that enable remote code execution or denial of service conditions within the affected software environments. ActiveX controls are dynamic link libraries that provide extended functionality within web browsers and document readers, making them attractive targets for exploitation due to their privileged execution context. The unspecified nature of the attack vectors suggests that multiple pathways may exist for exploitation, potentially including memory corruption issues, buffer overflows, or improper input validation within the ActiveX control implementation. This ambiguity in the vulnerability description indicates a potentially broad range of exploitation techniques that could be employed by threat actors.
The operational impact of CVE-2009-2987 extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as the vulnerability could enable attackers to disrupt critical business operations and compromise document processing workflows. Organizations relying on Adobe Reader and Acrobat for document management, e-signature processing, and content review may face significant operational disruptions when systems become unavailable due to exploitation of this vulnerability. The Windows platform-specific nature of the issue means that enterprise environments heavily dependent on Adobe's document processing tools would be particularly vulnerable to cascading failures that could affect productivity across multiple departments and applications. Network administrators and security teams would need to implement immediate mitigation strategies to protect their infrastructure from potential exploitation attempts.
Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of the broader ATT&CK framework, particularly within the execution and privilege escalation phases of the attack lifecycle. The ActiveX control exploitation represents a classic example of a technique used for initial compromise, potentially leading to more sophisticated attacks if combined with other vulnerabilities or social engineering approaches. From a CWE perspective, this vulnerability aligns with several categories including CWE-119 Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer and CWE-20 Improper Input Validation, which are fundamental weaknesses in software security design. Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigation strategies including immediate patch deployment, ActiveX control restrictions, and network segmentation to prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and implementing defense-in-depth strategies to protect against both known and unknown attack vectors that could leverage similar weaknesses in software components.