CVE-2010-0201 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-2010-0194, CVE-2010-0197, and CVE-2010-0204.
Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.
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 memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service conditions. This vulnerability represented a distinct threat vector from other contemporaneous issues such as CVE-2010-0194, CVE-2010-0197, and CVE-2010-0204, indicating that the flaw originated from different underlying code paths within the software's processing mechanisms. The vulnerability stemmed from improper handling of malformed or specially crafted input data within the PDF parsing and rendering components of the applications, creating conditions where memory corruption could occur during normal document processing operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds writes in memory. Attackers could exploit this flaw by crafting malicious PDF documents that, when opened by vulnerable versions of Adobe Reader or Acrobat, would trigger memory corruption in the application's heap management systems. This memory corruption could manifest as either arbitrary code execution when the corrupted memory was manipulated to redirect program execution flow, or as denial of service when the corruption caused application crashes or system instability. The vulnerability was particularly dangerous because it could be triggered through simple document opening operations without requiring any special user interaction beyond viewing the malicious content.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was severe across enterprise environments where Adobe Reader was widely deployed for document viewing and processing. Organizations faced potential compromise of user systems when employees opened malicious documents, either through email attachments, web downloads, or shared network resources. The vulnerability's exploitation could lead to complete system compromise, allowing attackers to execute malicious payloads with the privileges of the user running the vulnerable application. Additionally, the denial of service aspect meant that legitimate business operations could be disrupted when users encountered corrupted documents, potentially leading to productivity losses and increased IT support requests. The vulnerability's presence in multiple versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat across different operating systems created a broad attack surface that required immediate remediation efforts.
Organizations should have implemented immediate patch management procedures to upgrade to Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions 9.3.2 and 8.2.2 respectively, which contained the necessary fixes for this vulnerability. System administrators should have deployed network-based protections including content filtering and sandboxing mechanisms to prevent users from accessing potentially malicious PDF files. The vulnerability's exploitation could be mitigated through user education about avoiding suspicious email attachments and untrusted document sources, combined with regular security updates and system monitoring for unusual behavior patterns. Security teams should have implemented process isolation for PDF viewing applications and considered alternative document viewing solutions where appropriate. The remediation efforts should have been prioritized according to risk assessment procedures, given the high potential for both remote code execution and denial of service attacks that could affect critical business operations and data integrity.