AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2011-4369

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-12-16

Patch available

A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.

See remediation →

100/100

Remediation priority · Urgent

Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

Unspecified vulnerability in the PRC component in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x before 9.4.7 on Windows, Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x through 9.4.6 on Mac OS X, Adobe Reader and Acrobat 10.x through 10.1.1 on Windows and Mac OS X, and Adobe Reader 9.x through 9.4.6 on UNIX allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unknown vectors, as exploited in the wild in December 2011.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat's PRC (Prescient) component allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via unknown vectors. The flaw affects versions 9.x and 10.x across Windows, Mac OS X, and UNIX platforms, and was actively exploited in the wild in December 2011.

MitigationUpgrade to Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.4.7 or later (Windows) and the equivalent patched versions for Mac OS X and UNIX to remediate this vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

AcrobatApplication

Affected:= 9.0= 9.1= 9.1.1= 9.1.2= 9.1.3= 9.2= 9.3= 9.3.1= 9.3.2= 9.3.3= 9.3.4= 9.4

Acrobat ReaderApplication

Affected:= 9.0= 9.1= 9.1.1= 9.1.2= 9.1.3= 9.2= 9.3= 9.3.1= 9.3.2= 9.3.3= 9.3.4= 9.4

CVSS breakdown

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?

dbcve checks

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

Identify Adobe Acrobat or Reader installation

Locate the application on the system. On Windows, common paths are C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Reader X\ or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat X\. On Mac OS X, check /Applications/Adobe Reader.app or /Applications/Adobe Acrobat.app. On UNIX, check /opt/Adobe or /usr/local/Adobe directories.

Affected if The application is found on the system
Determine the installed version number

On Windows, right-click the executable (AcroRd32.exe for Reader or Acro32.exe/AcroPDF.exe for Acrobat) and select Properties > Details to view the File Version. On Mac OS X, right-click the application in Finder, select Get Info, and note the Version field. On UNIX, run the executable with -version or check the application bundle.

Affected if A version number is displayed that matches 9.0, 9.1, 9.1.1, 9.1.2, 9.1.3, 9.2, 9.3, 9.3.1, 9.3.2, 9.3.3, 9.3.4, or 9.4
Confirm the PRC component is present

Check for the presence of the Prescient (PRC) component files. On Windows, look for prc*.dll in the application directory or subdirectories (e.g., Adobe\Adobe Reader X\Reader\plug_ins). On Mac OS X, check the application bundle contents for PRC-related files. The vulnerability exists in this specific component.

Affected if PRC component files are present in the Adobe installation directory
Verify the operating system platform

Confirm the operating system is Windows, Mac OS X, or UNIX (including Linux/Solaris). The vulnerability affects all three platforms. Check via System Properties on Windows, About This Mac on Mac OS X, or 'uname -a' on UNIX.

Affected if The system runs Windows, Mac OS X, or UNIX

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader version 9.0 through 9.4 is installed on Windows, Mac OS X, or UNIX, and the PRC component is present.

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

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Patch available Apply the vendor patch

Vendor patch www.adobe.com →

Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.4.7 or later (Windows) and the equivalent patched versions for Mac OS X and UNIX to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Reader/Acrobat 9.4.7 (Windows) / 9.4.6 (Mac OS X, UNIX) or 10.1.2 or later for version 10.x

1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat).
2. For Windows users with Adobe 9.x: Upgrade to Adobe Reader 9.4.7 or later, or Adobe Acrobat 9.4.7 or later from the Adobe website.
3. For Mac OS X users with Adobe 9.x: Upgrade to Adobe Reader 9.4.6 or later, or Adobe Acrobat 9.4.6 or later.
4. For Adobe 10.x users (Windows and Mac OS X): Upgrade to Adobe Reader 10.1.2 or later, or Adobe Acrobat 10.1.2 or later.
5. For UNIX users with Adobe Reader 9.x: Upgrade to Adobe Reader 9.4.6 or later.
6. After upgrading, verify the new version by checking Help > About to confirm the installation was successful.
7. Alternatively, enable automatic updates via Edit > Preferences > Updater (or Acrobat > Preferences > Updater) to receive future security patches automatically.

Caveat Adobe Acrobat and Reader upgrades are generally low-risk; however, older plugins or scripts may need verification for compatibility with newer versions

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

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation4.0 h
Implementation8.0 h
Testing4.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

18.0 hours of engineering $3,200

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Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-4369 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2011-4369?

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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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

At a glance

A fix existsA vendor remedy is published

Severity 10.0 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 7.5%

Affects: Acrobat

Remediation

A high-priority fix

Fix this in Acrobat 18 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $3,200

Get a fix See the full breakdown ↓

A high-priority vulnerability. Send your environment and a specialist will scope CVE-2011-4369 and return a fixed quote and timeline.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

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

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References