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Adobe Acrobat allows pointer overwrite via specially crafted PDF file

Vulnerability Note VU#698924

Original Release Date: 2007-01-19 | Last Revised: 2007-01-24

Overview

Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader fail to properly handle a specially crafted PDF file, which may allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

Description

Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader are applications designed to create and view Portable Document Format (PDF) files. A specially crafted PDF file can cause heap memory corruption when it is opened in these applications. This memory corruption may allow an attacker to overwrite the contents of the EIP (Extended Instruction Pointer) register, thus gaining control of program execution flow. According to Adobe, the affected versions are:

Adobe Reader 7.0.8 and earlier versions
Adobe Acrobat Standard, Professional and Elements 7.0.8 and earlier versions
Adobe Acrobat 3D

Impact

A remote, unauthenticated attacker may be able to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

Solution

Apply an update

Apply an update, as specified in Adobe Security bulletin APSB07-01.


Disable the displaying of PDF documents in the web browser

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.
    Do not access PDF documents from untrusted sources

    Do not open unfamiliar or unexpected PDF documents, particularly those hosted on web sites or delivered as email attachments. Please see Cyber Security Tip ST04-010.
    Any website that hosts a PDF document may be leveraged to exploit this vulnerability. Web site and network Administrators can take the following steps to prevent their web sites from being leveraged in attacks using this vulnerability:

    Vendor Information

    698924
     
    Expand all

    Adobe Affected

    Updated:  January 19, 2007

    Status

    Affected

    Vendor Statement

    We have not received a statement from the vendor.

    Vendor Information

    The vendor has not provided us with any further information regarding this vulnerability.

    Addendum

    Please see Adobe Security bulletin APSB07-01.

    If you have feedback, comments, or additional information about this vulnerability, please send us email.


    CVSS Metrics

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    References

    Acknowledgements

    Thanks to Piotr Bania for reporting this vulnerability.

    This document was written by Will Dormann.

    Other Information

    CVE IDs: CVE-2006-5857
    Severity Metric: 12.05
    Date Public: 2007-01-10
    Date First Published: 2007-01-19
    Date Last Updated: 2007-01-24 20:08 UTC
    Document Revision: 15

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