CERT-In Vulnerability Note
CIVN-2004-0072
Vulnerabilities in mailListIsPdf and .ETD File Format String methods of Adobe Acrobat Reader
Original Issue Date:December 20, 2004
Severity Rating: HIGH
Systems Affected
Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.09 for UNIX
Adobe Reader version 6.0.2 and prior for Windows
Overview
Adobe Acrobat Reader is a program for viewing Portable Document Format PDF documents. Two vulnerabilities have been reported by iDefense viz. buffer overflow vulnerability in mailListIsPdf function and format string vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat reader.
Impact
Successful exploitation allows the attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the local user.
Description
1. mailListIsPdf Buffer Overflow Vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.09 for Unix
(
CAN-2004-1152
)
The function mailListIsPdf which checks whether the input file is an email message containing a PDF. A vulnerability exists in the way that the function copies user supplied data using strcat into a fixed sized buffer resulting in a boundary error. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending an e-mail attaching a malicious PDF document or a link to the same.
2. .ETD File Format String Vulnerability in Adobe Reader 6.0
(
CAN-2004-1153
)
A format string vulnerability exits in the eBook plug-in while parsing ".etd" files. A .etd file containing a format string in the title or baseurl fields can cause an invalid memory access. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a maliciously crafted eBook containing fomat specifiers in the title or baseurl fields.
Workaround
Exercise caution when following links from suspicious and unsolicited e-mail.
Solution
Apply appropriate updates released by Adobe. These issues are resolved in versions 5.0.10 for UNIX and version 6.0.3 for Windows.
http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/331153.html
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=2679
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=2677
Vendor Information
Adobe
http://www.adobe.com
References
iDEFENSE Security Advisories
http://www.idefense.com/application/poi/display?id=161&type=vulnerabilities
http://www.idefense.com/application/poi/display?id=163&type=vulnerabilities
Secunia Advisory: SA13471
http://secunia.com/advisories/13471/
Secunia Advisory: SA13474
http://secunia.com/advisories/13474/
CVE Name
CAN-2004-1152
CAN-2004-1153
Disclaimer
The information provided herein is on "as is" basis, without warranty of any kind.
Contact Information
Email: info@cert-in.org.in Phone: +91-11-2436857
Postal address
Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
Government of India
Electronics Niketan
6, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road,
New Delhi - 110 003
India
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