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CVE-2009-3459: Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

• Severity: critical (CVSS 9.3 v2.0)
• Exploited in the wild: yes — in CISA KEV since 2026-05-20
• EPSS: 86.6% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: yes
• Published: 2009-10-13 · updated 2026-06-16
• Weakness: CWE-119

Description

Heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 7.x before 7.1.4, 8.x before 8.1.7, and 9.x before 9.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF file that triggers memory corruption, as exploited in the wild in October 2009. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.

Affected products

• Adobe Acrobat for Edge: from 7.0 before 7.1.4; from 8.0 before 8.1.7; from 9.0 before 9.2 — fixed in 7.1.4, 8.1.7, 9.2
• Adobe Acrobat Reader: from 7.0 before 7.1.4; from 8.0 before 8.1.7; from 9.0 before 9.2 — fixed in 7.1.4, 8.1.7, 9.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Adobe Acrobat for Edge 7.1.4, 8.1.7, 9.2; Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.1.4, 8.1.7, 9.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2009/10/adobe_reader_and_acrobat_issue_1.html
• http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=7300
• http://secunia.com/advisories/36983
• http://securitytracker.com/id?1023007
• http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-15.html
• http://www.iss.net/threats/348.html
• http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/36600
• http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-286B.html
• http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/2851
• http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/2898
• https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/53691
• https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6534

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