Microsoft
CVE-2011-2462
CRITICAL
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components
ASVS 5.0
V14 - Configuration Dependency management, component inventory
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Impact | Critical risk at time of exploitation. Zero-day exploitation in December 2011 targeted defense and government organizations. The U3D attack surface was particularly dangerous because it was rarely disabled in enterprise deployments. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A targeted email delivered a PDF containing a crafted U3D object. Opening the PDF in Adobe Reader triggered the memory corruption, executing a payload that established persistent backdoor access for intelligence collection. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 26, 2026
Adobe Reader and Acrobat contain an unspecified U3D component vulnerability causing memory corruption that allows remote code execution, exploited as a zero-day in December 2011 through crafted PDF files.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
An unspecified vulnerability in the U3D (Universal 3D) component of Adobe Reader and Acrobat causes memory corruption that enables remote code execution. This was actively exploited as a zero-day in December 2011.
RemediationAI
Update Adobe Reader/Acrobat. Disable 3D content rendering in Adobe Reader's preferences. Deploy sandboxed PDF readers or use browser-native PDF viewing.
Affects your stack
Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
The CWE-787 memory corruption flaw in the U3D parsing component is triggered when Adobe Reader processes PDF files containing malformed 3D content. The corruption allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the Reader process.
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
Unspecified vulnerability in the U3D component in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 10.1.1 and earlier on Windows and Mac OS X, and Adobe Reader 9.x through 9.4.6 on UNIX, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unknown vectors, as exploited in the wild in December 2011.
Executive ViewAI
CVE-2011-2462 presents critical security risk, a out-of-bounds write vulnerability rated CVSS 9.8. Exploitation could allow attackers to corrupt memory, crash the application, or potentially execute arbitrary code. This vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild (KEV-listed) and requires immediate remediation. Immediate patching is required per CISA KEV mandate.
Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Enable ASLR and DEP where available; (2) Implement network segmentation; (3) Monitor for exploitation indicators.
Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
CISA KEV
EPSS
Exploit-DB
GitHub
VulDB
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.
Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.
Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org
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Integer underflow in Adobe Flash Player before 11.7.700.261 and 11.8.x through 12.0.x before 12.0.0.44 on Windows and Ma
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