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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2012-4159

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-2012-4156, CVE-2012-4157, CVE-2012-4158, 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 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 9.5.2 or later (for 9.x) or 10.1.4 or later (for 10.x) to patch 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 for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader installation. On Windows, open Programs and Features or check C:\Program Files\Adobe\ for Acrobat/Reader folders. On Mac, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
    Affected if Neither Adobe Acrobat nor Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed on the system.
  2. Determine installed version number
    On Windows, right-click the Adobe executable (Acrobat.exe or AcroRd32.exe), select Properties, and check the Details tab for Product Version. On Mac, right-click the application in /Applications, select Get Info, and check the Version field.
    Affected if Unable to determine the installed version from the executable properties.
  3. Compare against affected versions
    Compare your installed version to the following vulnerable ranges: Adobe Acrobat versions 9 through 9.3.4 (all 9.x versions before 9.5.2) and Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 9.0 through 9.4 (all 9.x versions before 9.5.2). For 10.x line, versions before 10.1.4 are also affected.
    Affected if Installed version matches any version in the 9.x range before 9.5.2 or any 10.x version before 10.1.4.
  4. Verify product type and edition
    Confirm whether the installation is Adobe Acrobat (full) or Adobe Acrobat Reader (free version). Both product lines share the same version numbering but are tracked separately in the affected products list.
    Affected if The installed product is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader but the specific edition cannot be confirmed.

Your environment is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader version 9.x is earlier than 9.5.2, or version 10.x is earlier than 10.1.4.

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) or 10.1.4 or later (for 10.x) to patch the vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat 9.5.2 (for 9.x) or 10.1.4 (for 10.x); Adobe Reader 9.5.2 (for 9.x) or 10.1.4 (for 10.x)

  1. Check 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. Navigate to the Adobe Security Bulletin APSB12-16 at http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb12-16.html
  3. Download the appropriate security update from the Adobe download page: For Adobe Acrobat 9.x, download version 9.5.2; For Adobe Acrobat 10.x, download version 10.1.4; For Adobe Reader 9.x, download version 9.5.2; For Adobe Reader 10.x, download version 10.1.4
  4. Close all Adobe applications and any web browsers with PDF viewing capabilities
  5. Run the downloaded installer to apply the security update
  6. Restart the computer after installation completes
  7. Verify the update was successful by checking the version again in Help > About

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-2012-4159 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