Dec16 |
8:30 am (UTC-7) | by
Roland Dela Paz (Threat Response Engineer) |
Security researchers have unearthed a new vulnerability in both Adobe Acrobat and Reader. Adobe has acknowledged the presence of the said vulnerability although it has not gone public with more specific details. Researchers believe version 9.2 and earlier of Adobe Acrobat and Reader are affected by this vulnerability.
Trend Micro threat analysts have encountered several samples of malicious .PDF files (detected as TROJ_PIDIEF.PGT, TROJ_PIDIEF.PGS, and TROJ_PIDIEF.PGU) that exploit the said vulnerability. While Adobe has not yet been able to release a patch, it was found that disabling JavaScript will serve as a suitable workaround.
To disable JavaScript, perform the following steps from within the concerned Adobe application:
- Click Edit then Preferences.
- In the left panel, choose JavaScript.
- In the right panel, uncheck Enable Acrobat JavaScript.
- Click OK.
Trend Micro product users are protected from this threat via the Smart Protection Network, which prevents the .PDF files from being downloaded onto users’ systems.
Update as of December 16, 2009, 1:00 PM PST
Adobe has officially released a security advisory covering this threat. In addition, they also announced that a patch to solve this problem will be released by January 12, 2010.
Update as of December 17, 2009, 4:26 AM PST
Trend Micro users that have OfficeScan with Intrusion Defense Firewall plugin are secured from any PDF exploit attacks as long as their systems are up-to-date with the latest IDF filters (IDF0937). For more details regarding this vulnerability, visit the security advisory we posted in our Threat Encyclopedia.
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December 16th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Thanks Adobe. That was the last straw I needed to get rid of acrobat.
Acrobat is internet-connected piece of software, has great drive-by capabilities and has 10 serious holes in a year. It simply stinks. If the exploit isn't fixed within 24 hours, but four weeks, then that makes your computer a time bomb. Farewell acrobat.
December 29th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Dave, I agree with you acrobat and reader are just short of malware I am certainly looking to replace it in 2010 as much as I can.