CVE-2008-2042

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.3 v2.0)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 5.0% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2008-05-08 · updated 2026-06-16
Weakness: CWE-20

Description

The Javascript API in Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0.9 and possibly 8.1.1 exposes a dangerous method, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands or trigger a buffer overflow via a crafted PDF file that invokes app.checkForUpdate with a malicious callback function.

Affected products

Adobe Acrobat for Edge: through 8.1.1; 3.0, 3.1, 4.0, 4.0.5, 4.0.5a, 4.0.5c (+28)
Adobe Acrobat Reader: through 8.1.1; 3.0, 3.01, 3.02, 4.0, 4.0.5, 4.0.5a (+34)

References

http://secunia.com/advisories/30840
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/3861
http://securitytracker.com/id?1019971
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-26-239286-1
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb08-13.html
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/491735/100/0/threaded
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/1966/references
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/42237
http://secunia.com/advisories/30840
http://securityreason.com/securityalert/3861
http://securitytracker.com/id?1019971
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-26-239286-1

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