CVE-2019-8050 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions, 2019.012.20035 and earlier, 2019.012.20035 and earlier, 2017.011.30142 and earlier, 2017.011.30143 and earlier, 2017.011.30142 and earlier, 2015.006.30497 and earlier, and 2015.006.30498 and earlier have a heap overflow vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/02/2025
Adobe Acrobat and Reader applications contain a heap overflow vulnerability that affects multiple versions across different release cycles. This vulnerability resides in the handling of malformed PDF files and occurs when the software processes certain embedded objects or streams without proper bounds checking. The heap overflow manifests when the application attempts to write data beyond the allocated memory boundaries, potentially corrupting adjacent memory regions and allowing attackers to manipulate program execution flow.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient input validation within the PDF parsing engine, specifically in how the software manages memory allocation for dynamic data structures. When processing maliciously crafted PDF documents, the vulnerable code fails to verify the size or bounds of incoming data before copying it into heap-allocated buffers. This condition creates a predictable memory corruption scenario where attacker-controlled data can overwrite critical memory locations including return addresses, function pointers, or other program state information. The vulnerability is classified as a heap-based buffer overflow under CWE-122, which represents a common class of memory safety issues that have been extensively documented in the software security community.
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can result in arbitrary code execution within the context of the user running the vulnerable Adobe application. Attackers can craft malicious PDF files that, when opened by an affected version of Acrobat or Reader, trigger the heap overflow condition and allow remote code execution. This presents a significant operational impact as users may inadvertently encounter compromised documents through email attachments, web downloads, or malicious websites. The vulnerability enables attackers to bypass standard security controls and potentially establish persistent access to target systems, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where document sharing is common.
The attack surface for this vulnerability extends across multiple Adobe product versions, including 2019.012.20035, 2017.011.30142, 2017.011.30143, and 2015.006.30497, among others, indicating a widespread issue affecting different release cycles. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to techniques involving exploitation of vulnerabilities and privilege escalation through code injection. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems and implement network-level controls to prevent access to known malicious PDF content. Additional mitigations include disabling PDF processing in web browsers, implementing application whitelisting policies, and monitoring for unusual PDF file processing activities. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of regular security updates and proper input validation in preventing memory corruption exploits that can lead to complete system compromise.