CVE-2009-3459

Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

Actively exploited (CISA KEV) High 9.3 CVSS 2.0

Description

Heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 7.x before 7.1.4, 8.x before 8.1.7, and 9.x before 9.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF file that triggers memory corruption, as exploited in the wild in October 2009. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.

Description as published by the source, in English.

Key facts

Published: 2009-10-13
Last modified: 2026-06-16
Assigned by: psirt@adobe.com
CVSS vector: AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Scored by: nvd@nist.gov (NVD Primary)
Probability of exploitation: 86.6 % among the highest of all known vulnerabilities
EPSS, next 30 days, model v2026.06.15
Fix available: Yes, see references

Actively exploited

CISA added this vulnerability to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2026-05-20, with a remediation deadline of 2026-06-03 for US federal agencies.

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Affected products

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status
Adobe	Acrobat	≥ 7.0, < 7.1.4	Affected
Adobe	Acrobat	≥ 8.0, < 8.1.7	Affected
Adobe	Acrobat	≥ 9.0, < 9.2	Affected
Adobe	Acrobat Reader	≥ 7.0, < 7.1.4	Affected
Adobe	Acrobat Reader	≥ 8.0, < 8.1.7	Affected
Adobe	Acrobat Reader	≥ 9.0, < 9.2	Affected

Weakness type

CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it reads from or writes to a memory location outside the buffer's intended boundary. This may result in read or write operations on unexpected memory locations tha…
CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow
A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().

References

http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2009/10/adobe_reader_and_acrobat_issue_1.html Broken Link, Vendor Advisory
http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=7300 Not Applicable
http://secunia.com/advisories/36983 Vendor Advisory
http://securitytracker.com/id?1023007= Broken Link
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-15.html Patch, Vendor Advisory
http://www.iss.net/threats/348.html Broken Link
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/36600 Broken Link
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-286B.html US Government Resource
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/2851 Vendor Advisory
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/2898 Vendor Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/53691 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A65… Broken Link
http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2009/10/adobe_reader_and_acrobat_issue_1.html Broken Link, Vendor Advisory
http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=7300 Not Applicable
http://secunia.com/advisories/36983 Vendor Advisory
http://securitytracker.com/id?1023007= Broken Link
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-15.html Patch, Vendor Advisory
http://www.iss.net/threats/348.html Broken Link
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/36600 Broken Link
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-286B.html US Government Resource

Related at Berigo

Articles

Almost a third of this week's listed vulnerabilities have no severity score Same product 2026-08-25
The weekly vulnerability summary from CISA lists 3882 vulnerabilities for the week beginning 10 August. 1184 of them have no calculated severity scor…
Adobe fixes critical flaw scoring 10.0 in Campaign Classic Same product 2026-08-03
Adobe published an update on 29 July 2026 for two vulnerabilities in Campaign Classic. CVE-2026-48449 scores 10.0 and can give code execution without…
Adobe patches twelve vulnerabilities in ColdFusion and Campaign Classic Same product 2026-06-30
Adobe has published updates fixing twelve CVEs in ColdFusion and Adobe Campaign Classic, several allowing arbitrary code execution.
Adobe patches critical Acrobat and Reader flaw after exploitation Same product 2026-04-13
A crafted PDF could bypass security mechanisms and run code. The flaw has been exploited in real attacks since at least November 2025.

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Sources and freshness

CVE

What it is: A reference number naming one specific vulnerability, for example CVE-2024-9474.
What it tells you: Which vulnerability we are talking about, and in which product.
What it does NOT tell you: Nothing about how serious it is, whether anyone is exploiting it, or whether it concerns you.
Why it matters: Without a shared number, vendor, authority and tooling cannot discuss the same flaw.
Used with the others: The number is the key. NVD, KEV and EPSS all describe the same CVE.

NVD CWE CISA KEV EPSS

How to read this together

No single value should be used on its own. A high CVSS score does not mean a vulnerability is being exploited, and a low one does not mean it is harmless. The four sources answer four different questions.

CVE names the specific vulnerability.
NVD adds severity and technical detail about it.
CWE describes the type of mistake behind it.
CISA KEV shows that it is already being exploited.
EPSS estimates how likely exploitation is soon.

The order that decides what is urgent

Do you actually have the product?
Is the version you run affected?
Is it listed in CISA KEV?
Does it have a high EPSS score?
Is the system reachable from the internet or from others?
How important is the system to the business?
Are there compensating controls already in place?

The first two questions are not about the vulnerability at all. They are about you, and they remove most of the list before you start.

A short example

Fix this week

CVSS 6,5 (medium)

In CISA KEV: yes
EPSS: 94 per cent
A firewall facing the internet

Can be scheduled

CVSS 9,8 (critical)

In CISA KEV: no
EPSS: 0,04 per cent
A test server with no internet access

Sorted by CVSS alone, the one on the right comes first. It is the more serious flaw in theory. But the one on the left is being used against real organisations right now, and it sits where an attacker can reach it. That is the one to fix first.

The critical one still has to be fixed. It just does not have to be fixed today.

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. CVE and the CVE logo are registered trademarks of The MITRE Corporation; CVE records are used under the CVE Terms of Use. CWE is a trademark of The MITRE Corporation, used per the CWE Terms of Use. KEV data from CISA (CC0). Exploitation probability from EPSS, a FIRST.org project. Open-source package data from OSV and the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0).

Scores and vectors are shown as published by the sources. The ordering of results is Berigo's own editorial assessment, described on the search page, and is not NVD data. An empty result never means a system is safe.