CVE-2011-0589 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
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 allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2011-0563 and CVE-2011-0606.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/16/2021
Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions prior to specific patched releases contain a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enables remote code execution and denial of service attacks. This vulnerability affects multiple product versions including Adobe Reader 10.x before 10.0.1, 9.x before 9.4.2, and 8.x before 8.2.6 across both Windows and Mac OS X platforms. The flaw manifests through unspecified attack vectors that differ from similar vulnerabilities CVE-2011-0563 and CVE-2011-0606, indicating a distinct code path or memory handling issue within the affected software components. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management during document processing, particularly when handling malformed or specially crafted PDF files that trigger buffer overflows or heap corruption conditions. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 weakness category, which represents out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to memory corruption and arbitrary code execution. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability represents a significant risk to organizations as it allows attackers to execute malicious code on targeted systems without requiring user interaction beyond opening a malicious PDF document. The attack surface is broad given Adobe Reader's widespread deployment across enterprise environments, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for organizations that rely heavily on PDF document processing. The memory corruption aspect of this vulnerability also makes it susceptible to exploitation techniques that leverage heap spraying or return-oriented programming to achieve remote code execution. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability aligns with T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution and T1059 - Command and Scripting Interpreter, as attackers can leverage the memory corruption to execute arbitrary commands on affected systems. The impact extends beyond simple code execution to include potential system compromise and data exfiltration, as successful exploitation can provide attackers with persistent access to vulnerable systems. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected versions to mitigate this risk, as the vulnerability's exploitation potential makes it a high-priority target for threat actors. The vulnerability's nature as a memory corruption issue also means that exploitation techniques may vary based on system architecture and memory layout, requiring comprehensive testing of patch effectiveness across different deployment scenarios. Security teams should implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and establish incident response procedures to handle successful compromise events. The vulnerability's classification as a memory corruption issue also suggests potential for denial of service attacks, where attackers could cause system instability or complete application crashes through carefully crafted payloads designed to trigger the underlying memory handling flaw.