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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2012-2049

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-08-15
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
Stack-based buffer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x before 9.5.2 and 10.x before 10.1.4 on Windows and Mac OS X allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors.

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

Stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors. The flaw affects versions 9.x before 9.5.2 and 10.x before 10.1.4 on Windows and Mac OS X platforms.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 9.5.2 or higher (for 9.x) or 10.1.4 or higher (for 10.x) to remediate the vulnerability.

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= 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
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
    Check Programs and Features (Windows) or Applications folder (Mac) for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader
    Affected if Either Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is present
  2. Determine exact version number
    Open Adobe Reader/Acrobat, go to Help > About (or press Ctrl+H) to display the full version number including the minor release
    Affected if Version displays as 9.x where x is any release below 9.5.2, or 10.x where x is any release below 10.1.4
  3. Verify platform
    Confirm the operating system is Windows or Mac OS X - this vulnerability does not affect Linux
    Affected if Running on Windows or Mac OS X with a vulnerable version installed
  4. Confirm version is in affected range
    Compare your installed version: 9.0 through 9.4.x are all affected (need 9.5.2+); 10.0 through 10.1.3 are all affected (need 10.1.4+)
    Affected if Version is 9.x below 9.5.2 or 10.x below 10.1.4

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader version 9.x is below 9.5.2, or version 10.x is below 10.1.4, and you are running on Windows or Mac OS X.

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 version 9.5.2 or higher (for 9.x) or 10.1.4 or higher (for 10.x) to remediate the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 9.5.2 or later for 9.x line, or 10.1.4 or later for 10.x line

  1. 1. Check current Adobe Acrobat or Reader version by opening the application, going to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
  2. 2. Navigate to the Adobe security bulletin APSB12-16 at http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb12-16.html to obtain the fixed version
  3. 3. For 9.x line users: Download Adobe Acrobat/Reader version 9.5.2 or later from Adobe's official download page
  4. 4. For 10.x line users: Download Adobe Acrobat/Reader version 10.1.4 or later from Adobe's official download page
  5. 5. Close all Adobe applications and uninstall the current version via Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features (or Mac Applications folder)
  6. 6. Restart the computer after uninstallation
  7. 7. Install the downloaded fixed version of Adobe Acrobat/Reader
  8. 8. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release (9.5.2+ or 10.1.4+)
Caveat Upgrading may introduce compatibility changes with existing PDF workflows or plugins; test critical documents before production deployment

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
Get the patch applied

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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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-2012-2049 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