Adobe Acrobat Reader out-of-bounds write

CVSS Meta Temp Score
CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.
Current Exploit Price (≈)
Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.
CTI Interest Score
Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
7.7$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Adobe Acrobat Reader up to 2015.006.30505/2017.011.30152/2019.021.20056 and classified as critical. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality. Performing a manipulation results in out-of-bounds write. This vulnerability is identified as CVE-2019-16451. The attack can be initiated remotely. Additionally, an exploit exists. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Adobe Acrobat Reader up to 2015.006.30505/2017.011.30152/2019.021.20056 (Document Reader Software). This affects an unknown part. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a out-of-bounds write vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-787. The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions , 2019.021.20056 and earlier, 2017.011.30152 and earlier, 2017.011.30155 and earlier version, 2017.011.30152 and earlier, and 2015.006.30505 and earlier have a heap overflow vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution .

The weakness was released 12/10/2019 as APSB19-55 as confirmed security bulletin (Website). The advisory is shared at helpx.adobe.com. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2019-16451. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details are unknown but a public exploit is available.

A public exploit has been developed by Google Security Research and been published 1 days after the advisory. The exploit is shared for download at exploit-db.com. It is declared as proof-of-concept. We expect the 0-day to have been worth approximately $5k-$25k.

Upgrading to version 2015.006.30508, 2017.011.30156 or 2019.021.20058 eliminates this vulnerability. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Exploit-DB (47769). Further details are available at blogs.adobe.com. Entries connected to this vulnerability are available at VDB-146948, VDB-146949, VDB-146950 and VDB-146951. Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

Version

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.7

VulDB Base Score: 6.3
VulDB Temp Score: 5.7
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 9.8
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Out-of-bounds write
CWE: CWE-787 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Proof-of-Concept
Author: Google Security Research
Download: 🔍

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-DayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
TodayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

Exploit-DB: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Exposure Time: 🔍
Exploit Delay Time: 🔍

Upgrade: Acrobat Reader 2015.006.30508/2017.011.30156/2019.021.20058

Timelineinfo

09/19/2019 🔍
12/10/2019 +82 days 🔍
12/10/2019 +0 days 🔍
12/11/2019 +1 days 🔍
12/11/2019 +0 days 🔍
09/29/2025 +2119 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: adobe.com

Advisory: APSB19-55
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2019-16451 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2019-16451
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-146961
scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013
Misc.: 🔍
See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 12/11/2019 17:00
Updated: 09/29/2025 10:45
Changes: 12/11/2019 17:00 (44), 12/15/2019 09:20 (20), 12/15/2019 09:21 (3), 03/10/2024 09:57 (7), 09/29/2025 10:45 (14)
Complete: 🔍
Committer: misc
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Discussion

No comments yet. Languages: en.

Please log in to comment.

◂ PreviousOverviewNext ▸

Want to stay up to date on a daily basis?

Enable the mail alert feature now!