CVE-2005-0035
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 · uneditedThe Acrobat web control in Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader 7.0 and earlier, when used with Internet Explorer, allows remote attackers to determine the existence of arbitrary files via the LoadFile ActiveX method.
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 confidenceThe Adobe Acrobat web control (ActiveX) in versions 7.0 and earlier contains a flaw where the LoadFile method can be exploited via malicious web pages to probe whether arbitrary files exist on a victim's local system, enabling reconnaissance for further attacks.
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= 4.5= 5.0= 5.0.5= 5.1= 6.0= 6.0.1= 6.0.2= 6.0.3= 7.0CVSS 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
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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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Check if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installedOpen Programs and Features (or Add/Remove Programs) and look for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader entries, or check the installation directory typically at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat [version]Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.5, 5.0, 5.0.5, 5.1, 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 6.0.3, or 7.0 is listed as installed
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Verify the exact version numberRight-click on the Adobe program in Programs and Features, select Properties, and check the Version field, or open Adobe Reader/Acrobat and go to Help > About Adobe [Product]Affected if The version displayed matches any of the affected versions listed (4.5 through 7.0)
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Confirm the ActiveX control is present on the systemOpen Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Manage Add-ons, and look for 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe PDF' in the ActiveX controls list, or check the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Code Store Database\Distribution Units for Adobe-related entriesAffected if The Adobe ActiveX control appears in the list of installed add-ons or registry entries
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Determine if the vulnerability is exploitableSince the flaw is triggered through malicious web pages in Internet Explorer, verify that the ActiveX control is enabled (not set to 'Disabled' in Manage Add-ons) and that IE is used as the browserAffected if The Adobe ActiveX control is enabled in Internet Explorer and the installed version is one of the vulnerable versions (4.5 through 7.0)
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader version 7.0 or earlier (specifically 4.5, 5.0, 5.0.5, 5.1, 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.2, 6.0.3, or 7.0) is installed and the Adobe ActiveX control is enabled in Internet Explorer.
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 dataUpgrade to Adobe Acrobat/Reader 7.0.1 or later, or disable the Acrobat ActiveX control in Internet Explorer, and restrict web browsing to trusted sites only.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-0035 — 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-2005-0035 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data