Adobe's Patch Day Update Corrects 15 Reader Flaws

Summary:

• This vulnerability affects: Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.3.1 and earlier, on Windows, Mac, and UNIX computers
• How an attacker exploits it: By enticing your users into viewing a maliciously crafted PDF document
• Impact: An attacker can execute code on your computer, potentially gaining control of it
• What to do: Install Adobe’s Reader and Acrobat 9.3.2 updates as soon as possible (or let Adobe’s Updater do it for you).

Exposure:

As part of their quarterly patch day cycle (which shares the same date as Microsoft Patch Day), Adobe released a security bulletin describing 15 security vulnerabilities (number based on CVE-IDs) that affect Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.3.1 and earlier, running on Windows, Mac, and UNIX computers. The flaws differ technically, but consist primarily of buffer overflow and  memory corruption vulnerabilities, and share the same general scope and impact.

In the worst case, if an attacker can entice one of your users into downloading and opening a maliciously crafted PDF document (.pdf), he can exploit many of these vulnerabilities to execute code on that user’s computer, with that user’s privileges. If your user has local administrative privileges, the attacker gains full control of the user’s machine.

Early this year, we predicted that attackers would increasingly target third-party applications, like Adobe Reader, in 2010. Recently, another security company proved this prediction true, showing that Adobe Reader is the most exploited application by attackers. For those reasons, we highly recommend you download and install these Reader updates immediately.

Solution Path

Adobe has released Reader and Acrobat 9.3.2 to fix these vulnerabilities on all platforms. You should download and deploy the corresponding updates immediately, or let the Adobe Software Updater program do it for you.

• Adobe Reader 9.3.2
  • For Windows
  • For Mac
  • For UNIX
• Adobe Acrobat
  • Standard and Pro for Windows
  • Pro Extended for Windows
  • 3D for Windows
  • Pro for Mac

For All WatchGuard Users:

Many WatchGuard Firebox models can block incoming PDF files. However, most administrators prefer to allow these file types for business purposes. Nonetheless, if PDF files are not absolutely necessary to your business, you may consider blocking them using the Firebox’s HTTP and SMTP proxy until the patch has been installed.

If you decide you want to block PDF documents, follow the links below for video instructions on using your Firebox proxy’s content blocking features to block .pdf files by their file extension:

• Firebox X Edge running 10.x
  • How do I block files with the FTP proxy?
  • How do I block files with the HTTP proxy?
  • How do I block files with the POP3 proxy?
  • How do I block files with the SMTP proxy
• Firebox X Core and X Peak running Fireware 10.x
  • How do I block files with the FTP proxy?
  • How do I block files with the HTTP proxy?
  • How do I block files with the POP3 proxy?
  • How do I block files with the SMTP proxy?

Status:

Adobe has released patches that correct these vulnerabilities.

References:

• Adobe’s April Security Bulletin

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