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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2012-4156

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-2012-2051, 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-2012-4157, 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 · high 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 that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via unspecified vectors.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 9.5.2 or later (for 9.x branch) or 10.1.4 or later (for 10.x branch) to remediate this critical 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. Check if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    On Windows, open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Adobe\ for 32-bit or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Adobe\ for 64-bit. Look for subfolders named 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe Acrobat Reader'.
    Affected if Either product subfolder exists in the registry
  2. Determine the installed Adobe Acrobat version
    In the registry path from step 1, locate the 'Version' or 'VersionNumber' value under the Adobe Acrobat folder. Note the exact version string.
    Affected if The version starts with 9.0 through 9.3.4, or is exactly 9 (indicating 9.0)
  3. Determine the installed Adobe Acrobat Reader version
    In the registry path from step 1, locate the 'Version' or 'VersionNumber' value under the Adobe Acrobat Reader folder. Note the exact version string.
    Affected if The version starts with 9.0 through 9.4, or is exactly 9 (indicating 9.0)
  4. Check for 10.x branch versions
    In the same registry locations, check if the version starts with '10.' followed by any number. Examples include 10.0, 10.1.0, 10.1.1, 10.1.2, 10.1.3.
    Affected if The version starts with 10.0 through 10.1.3 (any 10.x version before 10.1.4)
  5. Confirm the operating system is Windows or Mac OS X
    This vulnerability affects only Windows and Mac OS X. On Windows, check System Properties. On Mac, check System Information or About This Mac.
    Affected if The operating system is Windows or Mac OS X and the product version matches the affected ranges

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat 9.x through 9.3.4 or Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0 through 9.4 is installed on Windows or Mac OS X, or if Adobe Acrobat/Reader 10.x before 10.1.4 is installed on these platforms.

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 later (for 9.x branch) or 10.1.4 or later (for 10.x branch) to remediate this critical vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Back up any important PDF files and settings from the current Adobe installation
  2. Uninstall the current version of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader 9.x
  3. Download Adobe Acrobat 9.5.2 or later (or Adobe Reader 9.5.2 or later) from the official Adobe website at get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat
  4. Verify the download matches your operating system (Windows or Mac OS X)
  5. Install the downloaded fixed version of Adobe Acrobat/Reader
  6. Restart the computer if prompted
  7. Verify the installed version by checking Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader to confirm version 9.5.2 or later
Caveat Modern Adobe Reader/Acrobat versions may require system requirements beyond Windows XP/Mac OS X 10.4-10.5; ensure your OS meets requirements before upgrading

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

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA0.5 h
3.5 hours of engineering $750
Get the patch applied

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

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-2012-4156 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