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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2012-2051

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
Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x before 9.5.2 and 10.x before 10.1.4 on Windows and Mac OS X allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2012-4147, CVE-2012-4148, CVE-2012-4149, CVE-2012-4150, CVE-2012-4151, CVE-2012-4152, CVE-2012-4153, CVE-2012-4154, CVE-2012-4155, CVE-2012-4156, CVE-2012-4157, CVE-2012-4158, CVE-2012-4159, and CVE-2012-4160.

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 · moderate confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability 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 remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors.

MitigationUpgrade Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 9.5.2 or later for the 9.x branch, or 10.1.4 or later for the 10.x branch. Consider disabling JavaScript in Adobe Reader as a defense-in-depth measure.

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 Adobe Acrobat or Reader installation
    On Windows, check the registry key HKLM\Software\Adobe\Acrobat\Install\Version or HKLM\Software\Adobe\AcroDist\Install\Version. On Mac, check /Applications/Adobe Acrobat or /Applications/Adobe Reader and right-click to Get Info or use System Profiler.
    Affected if Either Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed on Windows or Mac OS X.
  2. Determine the exact installed version
    Read the version value from the registry or application Info.plist file. The product name will indicate whether it is Acrobat (full) or Acrobat Reader.
    Affected if The installed version matches 9.x series (9.0 through 9.3.4) or 10.x series before 10.1.4.
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    If using Acrobat 9.x, verify the version is less than 9.5.2. If using Acrobat 10.x, verify the version is less than 10.1.4. If using Acrobat Reader, check versions 9.0 through 9.4 are affected.
    Affected if The installed version is 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 for Reader; or any 9.x below 9.5.2; or any 10.x below 10.1.4.
  4. Verify platform is Windows or Mac OS X
    Confirm the operating system where the Adobe product is installed. This vulnerability specifically affects Windows and Mac OS X platforms.
    Affected if The Adobe product is running on Windows or Mac OS X.

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version 9.x is below 9.5.2, or version 10.x is below 10.1.4, 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

Upgrade Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 9.5.2 or later for the 9.x branch, or 10.1.4 or later for the 10.x branch. Consider disabling JavaScript in Adobe Reader as a defense-in-depth measure.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (latest version, or at minimum 10.1.4 for version 10.x, 9.5.2 for version 9.x)

  1. 1. Visit the official Adobe website to download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  2. 2. Uninstall the current version (9.x) of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader from the system.
  3. 3. Download the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (formerly known as Adobe Reader) from get.adobe.com/reader.
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
  5. 5. Verify the installation by checking the version number in Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  6. 6. Ensure automatic updates are enabled to receive future security patches.
Caveat Legacy PDF forms or interactive features may behave differently in newer versions; test critical documents before deployment

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-2012-2051 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