CVE-2011-0585 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 10.x before 10.0.1, 9.x before 9.4.2, and 8.x before 8.2.6 on Windows and Mac OS X allows attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code via unknown vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2011-0565.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/16/2021
Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions prior to 10.0.1, 9.4.2, and 8.2.6 contain a critical vulnerability that represents a significant security risk for users on both Windows and Mac OS X platforms. This unspecified vulnerability operates outside the scope of CVE-2011-0565, indicating it affects different attack surfaces within the software architecture. The vulnerability manifests through unknown vectors that attackers can exploit to either disrupt service availability or potentially gain remote code execution capabilities. The lack of specific technical details in the initial description suggests this may involve complex memory corruption issues or improper input validation mechanisms within the PDF parsing engine.
The technical flaw likely resides in how the affected Adobe applications process certain PDF file structures or embedded content, potentially involving buffer overflows, heap corruption, or improper memory management during document rendering. These vulnerabilities typically arise from insufficient validation of user-supplied data within the application's PDF parser, allowing maliciously crafted PDF files to trigger unexpected behavior in the software's memory management systems. The vulnerability's classification as a denial of service or arbitrary code execution threat places it within the broader context of software exploitation techniques that have been systematically catalogued in the CWE database under categories related to buffer overflows and memory corruption. Such vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous because they can be exploited through social engineering attacks where users unknowingly open malicious PDF files, making them ideal candidates for zero-day exploitation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption to potentially enable full system compromise when exploited successfully. Attackers can leverage these vulnerabilities to execute malicious code with the privileges of the victim user, potentially leading to complete system infiltration, data exfiltration, or establishment of persistent backdoors. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of Adobe's core products, indicating a widespread issue that requires immediate attention from enterprise security teams. Organizations running these vulnerable versions face significant risk exposure, particularly in environments where users regularly open PDF documents from untrusted sources. The vulnerability's presence in both Windows and Mac OS X platforms means that security teams must implement comprehensive mitigation strategies across all operating system environments, making the attack surface more complex to secure.
Security professionals should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems, as the vulnerability's potential for arbitrary code execution makes it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments. The mitigation strategy should include mandatory software updates, implementation of PDF file scanning mechanisms, and user education about avoiding suspicious PDF attachments. Organizations should also consider implementing network-based protections such as content filtering and sandboxing solutions to prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification aligns with ATT&CK techniques related to initial access and execution phases, where attackers leverage software vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to target systems. Additionally, the lack of specific exploitation details suggests that this vulnerability may have been actively exploited in the wild, making immediate remediation essential for organizations that have not yet applied the relevant security patches.