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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2012-1530

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-01-10
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 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 the XSLT engine in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x before 9.5.3, 10.x before 10.1.5, and 11.x before 11.0.1 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a PDF file containing an XSL file that triggers memory corruption when the lang function processes XML data with a crafted node-set.

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 Reader and Acrobat's XSLT engine allows arbitrary code execution via a malicious PDF containing an XSL stylesheet. The vulnerability is triggered when the lang function processes XML data with a crafted node-set, causing memory corruption on the heap.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Reader and Acrobat to versions 9.5.3, 10.1.5, or 11.0.1 or later. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files.

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= 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 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. Identify installed Adobe product
    Open Adobe Reader or Acrobat, go to Help > About Adobe Reader/Acrobat to display the exact version number
    Affected if The product is Adobe Reader or Acrobat and the version falls within 9.0 through 9.4
  2. Confirm version matches affected range
    Compare your installed version number to the affected list: 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
    Affected if The installed version exactly matches one of these listed versions (note: versions 9.5.x, 10.x, and 11.x are not affected)
  3. Verify XSLT processing capability
    The vulnerability lies in the XSLT engine. Check if the PDF application has JavaScript/XSLT processing enabled. In Adobe Reader, go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript and verify if Adobe JavaScript is enabled
    Affected if JavaScript/XSLT processing is enabled and the version is in the affected list - the vulnerability triggers when processing a PDF containing a malicious XSL stylesheet with the lang function

You are affected if Adobe Reader or Acrobat version 9.0 through 9.4 is installed and JavaScript/XSLT processing is enabled, as the heap overflow occurs when the lang function in an XSL stylesheet processes crafted XML node-sets within a malicious PDF.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch www.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Reader and Acrobat to versions 9.5.3, 10.1.5, or 11.0.1 or later. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 9.5.3 or later (or 10.1.5+/11.0.1+ if upgrading major version lines)

  1. 1. Close all Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader instances that are currently running
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Adobe download page or use your organization's software distribution system
  3. 3. Download Adobe Acrobat/Reader version 9.5.3 or later (or version 10.1.5+, 11.0.1+ if using those major version lines)
  4. 4. Run the installer with appropriate administrative privileges
  5. 5. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. 6. Restart any applications that may have been using the previous version
  7. 7. Verify the installed version by opening Adobe Reader/Acrobat and checking Help > About Adobe Reader/Acrobat
Caveat Upgrade within the same major version typically has minimal risk; however, ensure compatibility with any existing plugins or workflows before deploying organization-wide

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 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-2012-1530 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