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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2012-4160

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-2012-4159.

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 denial of service via unspecified vectors.

MitigationApply Adobe security updates: upgrade Adobe Reader/Acrobat 9.x to 9.5.2 or later, or 10.x to 10.1.4 or later.

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 Reader is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features (or Add or Remove Programs on older Windows), or look for Adobe Acrobat Reader in the Start menu
    Affected if Adobe Reader appears in the installed programs list
  2. Find Adobe Reader version
    In the programs list, note the version column for Adobe Reader/Acrobat. Alternatively, locate the Adobe Reader installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Reader XX.X) and right-click AcroRd32.exe > Properties > Details to view the File Version
    Affected if The version shown is 9.0 through 9.4.x, or any 9.x version before 9.5.2
  3. Check Adobe Acrobat (full application) version
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or locate the Acrobat installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat X.X) and check file version of AcroTray.exe or the main executable
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat is installed with version 9.x (9, 9.0, 9.1, 9.1.1 through 9.3.4) or version 10.x before 10.1.4
  4. Confirm version against affected ranges
    Compare your installed version to the known affected list: Reader versions 9.0-9.4 and Acrobat versions 9.0-9.3.4 (9.x before 9.5.2), or version 10.x before 10.1.4
    Affected if Your installed version matches any of the affected versions listed in the CVE

You are affected if Adobe Reader 9.x (versions 9.0 through 9.4) or Adobe Acrobat 9.x (versions 9.0 through 9.3.4) is installed, or if either product is version 10.x before 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

Apply Adobe security updates: upgrade Adobe Reader/Acrobat 9.x to 9.5.2 or later, or 10.x to 10.1.4 or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat 9.5.2+ or Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.5.2+

  1. 1. Download Adobe Acrobat 9.5.2 or later from the official Adobe website at www.adobe.com
  2. 2. Download Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.5.2 or later from the official Adobe website at www.adobe.com
  3. 3. Close all Adobe Acrobat or Reader instances running on the system
  4. 4. Install the downloaded update by running the installer
  5. 5. Verify the installed version by opening Adobe Reader/Acrobat and checking Help > About Adobe Reader/Acrobat

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 / QA1.0 h
4.0 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-2012-4160 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