Software Engineering Institute

Adobe Acrobat Reader is software designed to view Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Adobe also distributes the Adobe Acrobat Plug-In to allow users to view PDF files inside of a web browser.

Per iDefense Advisory 02.08.08:
Remote exploitation of multiple stack-based buffer overflows in JavaScript methods in Adobe Reader and Acrobat could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code as the current user.

These issues exist due to insufficient input validation in several JavaScript methods. Inadequate checking is performed on the string length before it is copied into a fixed sized buffer on the stack. If an attacker supplies a long string, control structures on the stack may be modified, allowing the execution of arbitrary code.

By convincing a user to open a specially-crafted PDF file, a remote, unauthenticated attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code. This can happen in several ways, such as opening an email attachment or viewing a web page.

Update

According to the information in Adobe Security bulletin APSB08-13, users with version 8 of Adobe Reader or Acrobat should upgrade to version 8.1.2. Users running version 7 of Adobe Reader or Acrobat should upgrade to version 7.1.0. This issue was intially address for version 8 of Adobe Reader and Acrobat in Adobe Security advisory APSA08-01.

Disable the displaying of PDF documents in the web browser

Preventing PDF documents from opening inside a web browser may mitigate this vulnerability. If this workaround is applied to updated versions of the Adobe reader, it may mitigate future vulnerabilities.

To prevent PDF documents from automatically being opened in a web browser:

1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader.
2. Open the Edit menu.
3. Choose the preferences option.
4. Choose the Internet section.
5. Un-check the "Display PDF in browser" check box.