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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2014-8459

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-12-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 10.x before 10.1.13 and 11.x before 11.0.10 on Windows and OS X allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2014-8445, CVE-2014-8446, CVE-2014-8447, CVE-2014-8456, CVE-2014-8458, CVE-2014-8461, and CVE-2014-9158.

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 10.x before 10.1.13 and 11.x before 11.0.10 on Windows and OS X allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service via unspecified vectors, likely involving malicious PDF file processing.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 10.1.13 or 11.0.10 or later. Additional mitigations include disabling JavaScript in PDF readers, employing application sandboxing, and blocking suspicious PDF files at email/web gateways.

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:= 10.0= 10.0.1= 10.0.2= 10.0.3= 10.1= 10.1.1= 10.1.2= 10.1.3= 10.1.4= 10.1.5= 10.1.6= 10.1.7
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:all versions
WindowsOperating system
Affected:all versions
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:= 10.0= 10.0.1= 10.0.2= 10.0.3= 10.1= 10.1.1= 10.1.2= 10.1.3= 10.1.4= 10.1.5= 10.1.6= 10.1.7

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 if Adobe Reader or Acrobat is installed
    On Windows, check Add/Remove Programs or look for Adobe Acrobat/Reader in Program Files. On Mac, check /Applications folder for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
    Affected if Either Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat application is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed Adobe product version
    Right-click the Adobe application icon and select Properties, then look at the Version field. Alternatively, open the application and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader.
    Affected if The version shown is 10.0, 10.0.1, 10.0.2, 10.0.3, 10.1, 10.1.1, 10.1.2, 10.1.3, 10.1.4, 10.1.5, 10.1.6, or 10.1.7
  3. Confirm the operating system is Windows or OS X
    Check the system information to verify the OS is Microsoft Windows or Apple Mac OS X.
    Affected if The operating system is Windows or OS X
  4. Verify PDF processing capability is enabled
    The vulnerability exploits PDF file processing. By default, Adobe Reader and Acrobat can open and process PDF files without additional configuration.
    Affected if The application can open and render PDF documents (default behavior)

A user is affected if Adobe Reader or Acrobat version 10.0 through 10.1.7 is installed on Windows or OS X and can process PDF files.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 10.1.13 or 11.0.10 or later. Additional mitigations include disabling JavaScript in PDF readers, employing application sandboxing, and blocking suspicious PDF files at email/web gateways.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 10.1.13+ or 11.0.10+ (depending on your major version)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat on your system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or use the Help menu)
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for available updates
  4. 4. If updates are found, download and install the latest version
  5. 5. Alternatively, manually download the fixed versions from Adobe's official security bulletin: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/reader-apsb14-24.html
  6. 6. For Adobe Acrobat 10.x: upgrade to version 10.1.13 or later
  7. 7. For Adobe Acrobat 11.x: upgrade to version 11.0.10 or later
  8. 8. For Adobe Reader 10.x: upgrade to version 10.1.13 or later
Caveat Ensure compatibility with your document workflows as major version upgrades may introduce UI changes

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

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2014-8459 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