Zero-day vulnerability in Adobe Reader

Stack-based buffer overflow
CVE-2009-0927

The vulnerability was fixed at first in Adobe Reader 8.x branch, leaving vulnerable Adobe Reader 9.x. It is unclear, if this vulnerability was exploited before Adobe issued patch for Adobe Reader 8.x.

According to Symantec, they have spotted active exploitation of this vulnerability on April 6, 2009.

According to Trustwave report, this vulnerability was exploited in targeted attacks as a zero-day exploit targeting the aviation defense Industry. Given the confusion regarding exploitation we have considered to treat this vulnerability as a zero-day.

Known malware:

TROJ_PIDIEF.OE

Vulnerability details

Advisory: SB2009031801 - Multiple vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat

Vulnerable component: Adobe Reader

CVE-ID: CVE-2009-0927

CVSSv3 score: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:H/RL:O/RC:C

CWE-ID: CWE-121 - Stack-based buffer overflow

Description:

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The weakness exists due to stack-based buffer overflow in the getIcon() function. A remote attacker can create a specially crafted .pdf file, trick the victim into opening it, trigger memory corruption and execute arbitrary code on the target system with privileges of the current user.

Successful exploitation of the vulnerability results in arbitrary code execution on the vulnerable system.

Note: the vulnerability was being actively exploited.

Public Exploits:

- Adobe - Collab.getIcon() Buffer Overflow (Metasploit) (1) [Exploit-DB]

- Adobe - Collab.getIcon() Buffer Overflow (Metasploit) (2) [Exploit-DB]

- Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.1.2 < 9.0 - getIcon() Memory Corruption [Exploit-DB]

- Adobe Acrobat/Reader < 7.1.1/8.1.3/9.1 - Collab getIcon Universal Exploit [Exploit-DB]

External links:

http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-04.html
http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/adobe-acrobatreader-geticon-vuln-exploit-...
https://www.trustwave.com/Resources/Library/Documents/2013-Trustwave-Global-Security-Report/?dl=1
http://www.ehackingnews.com/2012/09/pdf-exploits-targets-defense-industry.html

About zero-day vulnerabilities

Zero-day vulnerability is an undisclosed vulnerability in software that hackers can exploit to compromise computer programs, gain unauthorized access to sensitive data, penetrate networks, etc. We consider vulnerability a zero-day when there is no solution provided from software vendor and the vulnerability is being actively exploited by malicious actors.

Zero-day candidate is a potential zero-day vulnerability in software which might have been used in targeted attacks, however there is no evidence to support this suggestion.