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Reader CVE-2016-4208

CRITICAL
Buffer Overflow (CWE-119)
2016-07-13 psirt@adobe.com
9.8
CVSS 3.0 · NVD
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Bounds checking, buffer size validation
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

CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available. EPSS exploitation probability: 15.08%.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could corrupt memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity + public POC available.
Patch available 15.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Adobe Reader and Acrobat before 11.0.17, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 15.006.30198, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 15.017.20050 on Windows and OS X allow. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and EPSS exploitation probability 15.1%.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Use memory-safe languages or bounds-checking. Enable ASLR, DEP/NX, stack canaries. Use safe string functions.

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

This vulnerability is classified as Buffer Overflow (CWE-119), which allows attackers to corrupt memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application. Adobe Reader and Acrobat before 11.0.17, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 15.006.30198, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 15.017.20050 on Windows and OS X allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-4191, CVE-2016-4192, CVE-2016-4193, CVE-2016-4194, CVE-2016-4195, CVE-2016-4196, CVE-2016-4197, CVE-2016-4198, CVE-2016-4199, CVE-2016-4200, CVE-2016-4201, CVE-2016-4202, CVE-2016-4203, CVE-2016-4204, CVE-2016-4205, CVE-2016-4206, CVE-2016-4207, CVE-2016-4211, CVE-2016-4212, CVE-2016-4213, CVE-2016-4214, CVE-2016-4250, CVE-2016-4251, CVE-2016-4252, and CVE-2016-4254. Affected products include: Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, Adobe Reader. Version information: before 11.0.17.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL
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

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

Adobe Reader and Acrobat before 11.0.17, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 15.006.30198, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 15.017.20050 on Windows and OS X allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-4191, CVE-2016-4192, CVE-2016-4193, CVE-2016-4194, CVE-2016-4195, CVE-2016-4196, CVE-2016-4197, CVE-2016-4198, CVE-2016-4199, CVE-2016-4200, CVE-2016-4201, CVE-2016-4202, CVE-2016-4203, CVE-2016-4204, CVE-2016-4205, CVE-2016-4206, CVE-2016-4207, CVE-2016-4211, CVE-2016-4212, CVE-2016-4213, CVE-2016-4214, CVE-2016-4250, CVE-2016-4251, CVE-2016-4252, and CVE-2016-4254.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
15.1%
Top 5% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

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.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 15.1%
Patch available Yes
Active threat Yes
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity + public POC available
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

84
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +15
CVSS: +49
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

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.

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

cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_dc:*:*:*:*:classic:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_dc:*:*:*:*:continuous:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader_dc:*:*:*:*:classic:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader_dc:*:*:*:*:continuous:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:adobe:reader:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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