CVE-2010-0194 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x before 9.3.2, and 8.x before 8.2.2 on Windows and Mac OS X, allow attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2010-0197, CVE-2010-0201, and CVE-2010-0204.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/16/2018
Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions prior to 9.3.2 for Windows and Mac OS X contained a critical vulnerability that enabled remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution or denial of service through unspecified attack vectors. This vulnerability specifically affected the processing of malformed input within the PDF rendering engine, creating a memory corruption condition that could be exploited to gain unauthorized system access. The flaw represented a distinct security issue from other contemporaneous vulnerabilities including CVE-2010-0197, CVE-2010-0201, and CVE-2010-0204, indicating that multiple attack surfaces within the Adobe Acrobat ecosystem required remediation. The vulnerability's impact extended across both Windows and Mac OS X platforms, demonstrating the cross-platform nature of the underlying security flaw. This memory corruption issue typically occurred when processing specially crafted PDF documents that contained malformed data structures or unexpected input sequences. The technical implementation of the vulnerability involved improper bounds checking and memory management within the PDF parser component, which allowed attackers to manipulate memory layout and execute malicious code with the privileges of the affected application. The exploitability of this vulnerability was particularly concerning given Adobe Reader's widespread deployment and the typical user behavior of opening PDF attachments from untrusted sources. Organizations running affected versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat faced significant risk of compromise, as the vulnerability could be leveraged to install malware, establish persistent backdoors, or perform other malicious activities on targeted systems. The root cause of the vulnerability aligned with common software security weaknesses documented in CWE-125, which addresses out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write operations. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability represented a critical threat to enterprise security posture, as it could be exploited through email attachments, web downloads, or other common attack vectors that did not require user interaction beyond opening a malicious document. The attack pattern associated with this vulnerability followed typical adversary tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under techniques such as T1203, which covers Exploitation for Client Execution, and T1059, which covers Command and Scripting Interpreter. Security professionals needed to prioritize patch management for this vulnerability due to its potential for remote code execution, making it a high-priority remediation item in vulnerability management programs. The vulnerability's exploitation could result in complete system compromise, particularly when users opened malicious PDF files with elevated privileges. Organizations should have implemented immediate patch deployment strategies and considered network-level protections such as PDF content filtering to mitigate exposure. The vulnerability's impact was amplified by Adobe Reader's status as a default PDF viewer on most Windows systems, making the attack surface significantly larger than initially apparent. The remediation process required careful coordination between IT security teams and end-user support to ensure comprehensive patch deployment across all affected systems while minimizing operational disruption. This vulnerability highlighted the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software components and implementing layered security controls to protect against zero-day exploits in widely deployed applications.