CVE-2020-3753 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE
Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2019.021.20061 and earlier, 2017.011.30156 and earlier, 2017.011.30156 and earlier, and 2015.006.30508 and earlier have a stack exhaustion vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to memory leak .
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/10/2025
Adobe Acrobat and Reader applications contain a stack exhaustion vulnerability that affects multiple version ranges including 2019.021.20061 and earlier, 2017.011.30156 and earlier, and 2015.006.30508 and earlier. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation when processing maliciously crafted pdf files, specifically in the handling of nested structures within the document parsing mechanism. The flaw allows an attacker to craft a specially designed pdf file that triggers excessive stack consumption during the parsing process, leading to stack exhaustion conditions that can cause application instability and potential memory leaks. This vulnerability represents a classic stack-based buffer overflow scenario where recursive or deeply nested function calls consume excessive stack space, ultimately exhausting the available stack memory allocation. The issue manifests when the application attempts to parse malformed pdf content that contains excessive nesting levels or recursive structures that cause the stack to grow beyond its allocated limits. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it can be exploited through social engineering attacks where users open malicious pdf attachments, making it a significant threat vector for targeted attacks. According to the common weakness enumeration framework, this vulnerability maps to CWE-770, which describes allocation of resources without limits or with inadequate limits, specifically in the context of stack memory allocation. The attack pattern aligns with techniques described in the attack tree framework under the category of resource exhaustion attacks, where attackers leverage application parsing logic to consume system resources beyond normal operational limits. The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple memory leaks to include potential application crashes, denial of service conditions, and in some cases, could provide a foothold for more sophisticated exploitation techniques. When exploited successfully, the vulnerability can cause the affected application to become unresponsive or crash entirely, disrupting legitimate user workflows and potentially providing attackers with opportunities to escalate privileges or execute additional malicious code. The memory leak aspect of this vulnerability compounds the threat by gradually consuming system resources over time, which could lead to system instability or complete system crashes in resource-constrained environments. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected versions to mitigate this risk, as the vulnerability provides a straightforward path for attackers to compromise systems through standard pdf document handling operations. The recommended mitigation strategy includes implementing strict pdf file validation procedures, deploying sandboxing solutions for pdf processing, and maintaining updated security policies that restrict pdf file downloads from untrusted sources. Network-based defenses should include pdf file inspection and filtering mechanisms that can identify and block potentially malicious pdf content before it reaches end-user systems. Regular security assessments should verify that all pdf processing components are updated to versions that contain the necessary stack overflow protection mechanisms and input validation controls to prevent recursive parsing scenarios that could lead to stack exhaustion conditions.