CVE-2003-0142
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAdobe Acrobat Reader (acroread) 6, under certain circumstances when running with the "Certified plug-ins only" option disabled, loads plug-ins with signatures used for older versions of Acrobat, which can allow attackers to cause Acrobat to enter Certified mode and run untrusted plugins by modifying the CTIsCertifiedMode function.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceAdobe Acrobat Reader 6 contains a logic flaw where, when the 'Certified plug-ins only' security option is disabled, it falls back to using signature validation mechanisms from older Acrobat versions. Attackers can exploit this by modifying the CTIsCertifiedMode function to trick the application into entering 'Certified mode' and executing untrusted or malicious plugins as if they were legitimately signed.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 6.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 is installedCheck the installed version of Adobe Acrobat Reader via Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader, or check the program's version property in Add/Remove ProgramsAffected if The installed version is Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 exactly
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Locate the Security settings panelOpen Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0 and navigate to Edit > Preferences > Security, or access the Security settings through the menu depending on the exact 6.0 subversionAffected if Unable to access Security preferences indicates an older or different version
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Verify the Certified plug-ins only option stateIn the Security preferences panel, locate the 'Certified plug-ins only' checkbox or toggle setting and observe whether it is enabled or disabledAffected if The 'Certified plug-ins only' option is currently disabled (unchecked) - this is the vulnerable configuration
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader version 6.0 is installed AND the 'Certified plug-ins only' security option is disabled, allowing fallback to older vulnerable signature validation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataEnable the 'Certified plug-ins only' option in Acrobat Reader 6 settings and ensure only plugins from trusted sources are loaded. For long-term security, upgrade to a current supported version of Adobe Acrobat Reader as this vulnerability affects a deprecated product line.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2003-0142 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2003-0142 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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