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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 24 Mar 2022. Known ransomware use
AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2008-2992

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2008-11-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 8.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware High EPSS Public exploit No privileges Patch available

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 · unedited
Stack-based buffer overflow in Adobe Acrobat and Reader 8.1.2 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a PDF file that calls the util.printf JavaScript function with a crafted format string argument, a related issue to CVE-2008-1104.

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 confidence

CVE-2008-2992 describes a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 8.1.2 and earlier. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by crafting a PDF file that uses the util.printf JavaScript function with a malicious format string argument.

MitigationTo mitigate this vulnerability, users should upgrade to a version of Adobe Acrobat and Reader that is not affected by this issue. Additionally, implementing strict controls on the execution of JavaScript within PDF files may help reduce the risk.

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
AcrobatApplication
Affected:<= 8.1.2
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:<= 8.1.2
SolarisOperating system
Affected:= 10

CVSS 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed version of Adobe Acrobat/Reader
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader and navigate to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader to view the version number.
    Affected if The installed version is 8.1.2 or earlier.
  2. Check if JavaScript is enabled
    Go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript and verify if 'Enable Acrobat JavaScript' is checked.
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled.
  3. Check installed version of Oracle Solaris
    Run the command 'uname -r' in the terminal to check the version of Oracle Solaris.
    Affected if The version is 10.

You are affected if you are using Adobe Acrobat/Reader version 8.1.2 or earlier with JavaScript enabled, or if you are using Oracle Solaris version 10.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 8.1.2
Vendor patch www.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

To mitigate this vulnerability, users should upgrade to a version of Adobe Acrobat and Reader that is not affected by this issue. Additionally, implementing strict controls on the execution of JavaScript within PDF files may help reduce the risk.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 8.1.3 or later (or migrate to a more current major version such as 9.x or newer)

  1. 1. Identify all systems with Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader versions 8.1.2 or earlier installed.
  2. 2. Uninstall the vulnerable Adobe Acrobat/Reader version from affected systems.
  3. 3. Download Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader version 8.1.3 or later from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com).
  4. 4. Install the updated version on all affected systems.
  5. 5. Verify the installed version is 8.1.3 or higher by checking Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader.
Caveat Upgrading to newer major versions may require retesting existing PDF-dependent workflows; some features or plugins may require updates

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,544.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-2992 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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