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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2009-0928

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-03-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
Heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Acrobat Reader and Acrobat Professional 7.1.0, 8.1.3, 9.0.0, and other versions allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a PDF file containing a JBIG2 stream with a size inconsistency related to an unspecified table.

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

Heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Acrobat Reader and Acrobat Professional (versions 7.1.0, 8.1.3, 9.0.0, and others) allows remote code execution via a malicious PDF file containing a JBIG2 stream with a size inconsistency in an unspecified table.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader and Acrobat Professional to the latest patched version; avoid opening untrusted PDF files until patched.

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:<= 9.0= 3.0= 3.1= 4.0= 4.0.5= 4.0.5a= 4.0.5c= 5.0= 5.0.5= 5.0.6= 5.0.10= 6.0
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:<= 9.0= 3.0= 3.01= 3.02= 4.0= 4.0.5= 4.0.5a= 4.0.5c= 4.5= 5.0= 5.0.5= 5.0.6

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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. Confirm Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Check Add/Remove Programs on Windows, or use command 'ls /Applications | grep -i adobe' on macOS. Look for 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe Reader' entries.
    Affected if Neither Adobe Acrobat nor Adobe Acrobat Reader is found on the system, so the CVE does not apply.
  2. Identify the installed version on Windows
    Open the Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\. Look for subkeys starting with '{AC76BA86-7AD7-' which contain Adobe product entries. Check the 'DisplayVersion' value in each subkey.
    Affected if No registry entries found with the Adobe product GUID prefix.
  3. Identify the installed version via executable
    Navigate to the Adobe installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat X.X\ or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader X.X\) and right-click on AcroRd32.exe or AcroDist.exe to view Properties > Details. The version listed there is the installed version.
    Affected if Adobe executable file not found in the expected installation paths.
  4. Compare version against affected ranges
    Match the identified version number against the affected list: Acrobat versions 3.0, 3.1, 4.0, 4.0.5, 4.0.5a, 4.0.5c, 5.0, 5.0.5, 5.0.6, 5.0.10, 6.0, and up to 9.0; Acrobat Reader versions 3.0, 3.01, 3.02, 4.0, 4.0.5, 4.0.5a, 4.0.5c, 4.5, 5.0, 5.0.5, 5.0.6, and up to 9.0.
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the versions listed in the affected versions, meaning the software is vulnerable to the JBIG2 buffer overflow.

The system is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed and the version matches any of the affected versions (3.x, 4.x, 5.x, 6.0, or <= 9.0) listed in the CVE.

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 9.0
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader and Acrobat Professional to the latest patched version; avoid opening untrusted PDF files until patched.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 9.1 (or later), 8.1.4 (or later), 7.1.1 (or later), Reader 3.03 (or later)

  1. 1. Verify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat Professional)
  2. 2. If running an affected version (Acrobat/Reader <= 9.0, 3.0-3.02, 3.1, 4.0, or 7.1.0, 8.1.3, 9.0.0), download the latest Adobe Acrobat security update from the official Adobe website at https://www.adobe.com/support/security/
  3. 3. Download the appropriate patched version: For Acrobat 9.x users, upgrade to version 9.1 or later; For Acrobat 8.x users, upgrade to version 8.1.4 or later; For Acrobat 7.x users, upgrade to version 7.1.1 or later; For Reader 9.x users, upgrade to version 9.1 or later; For Reader 3.x users, upgrade to version 3.03 or later
  4. 4. Close all Adobe applications and any web browsers with PDF viewing capabilities
  5. 5. Run the installer with administrator privileges and follow the on-screen prompts
  6. 6. After installation, verify the new version by checking Help > About to confirm the security patch is applied
  7. 7. Ensure Adobe's automatic update feature is enabled (Edit > Preferences > General > Updater) to receive future security updates
Caveat Upgrading between major versions may change PDF rendering behavior or plugin compatibility; test critical PDF workflows after applying the security update

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

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2009-0928 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