CVE-2008-2992
Adobe Acrobat and Reader: Reader and Acrobat Input Validation
As of , CVE-2008-2992 in Adobe Acrobat and Reader is on CISA's list of exploited vulnerabilities: CISA listed it on . Our patch-first group: Patch this week.
- Exploited
- Yes: CISA listed it on 3 March 2022
- US federal deadline
- 24 March 202221 days after CISA listed it. US federal civilian agencies must fix it by then.
- Used in ransomware campaigns
- KnownCISA changed it from Unknown to Known on 12 May 2025.
- EPSS score
- 0.98Higher than 99% of the CVEs EPSS scores. EPSS estimates the chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
- EPSS when listed
- 0.86 on 3 March 2022EPSS on the day CISA listed it.
- Public exploit
- 2 Metasploit modules and 4 Exploit-DB entries (4 verified)
- Fix
- No vendor link in CISA's entry
What CISA says to do
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CISA's required action
What the flaw is
Adobe Acrobat and Reader contain an input validation issue in a JavaScript method that could potentially lead to remote code execution.
CISA's description
Stack-based buffer overflow in Adobe Acrobat and Reader 8.1.2 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a PDF file that calls the util.printf JavaScript function with a crafted format string argument, a related issue to CVE-2008-1104.
The CVE record's description, from mitre
- CVE published
- 4 November 2008
- Assigned by
- mitre
- CVSS
- 7.8 High (CVSS 3.1, from CISA-ADP)
- CWE-787
- Out-of-bounds Write
- CWE-119
- Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
- CISA SSVC, exploitation
- active
- CISA SSVC, automatable
- no
- CISA SSVC, technical impact
- total
Timeline
- The CVE record was published.
- Exploit-DB published an exploit (EDB-ID 6994).
- Exploit-DB published an exploit (EDB-ID 7006).
- Exploit-DB published an exploit (EDB-ID 16504).
- Exploit-DB published an exploit (EDB-ID 16624).
- CISA added it to its list of exploited vulnerabilities.
- The US federal deadline to fix it.
- CISA changed its entry. Ransomware use: Unknown to Known.
Public exploits
Facts from Metasploit's module list and Exploit-DB's index; we never copy exploit code.
- Metasploit: Adobe util.printf() Buffer Overflowexploit module, rank good
- Metasploit: Adobe util.printf() Buffer Overflowexploit module, rank good
- Exploit-DB: Adobe - 'util.printf()' Local Buffer Overflow (Metasploit) (2)EDB-ID 16624, verified by Exploit-DB, 25 September 2010
- Exploit-DB: Adobe - 'util.printf()' Local Buffer Overflow (Metasploit) (1)EDB-ID 16504, verified by Exploit-DB, 3 May 2010
- Exploit-DB: Adobe Reader - 'util.printf()' JavaScript Function Stack Overflow (1)EDB-ID 6994, verified by Exploit-DB, 5 November 2008
- Exploit-DB: Adobe Reader - 'util.printf()' JavaScript Function Stack Overflow (2)EDB-ID 7006, verified by Exploit-DB, 5 November 2008
Acrobat and Reader: other exploited entries
| Vulnerability | Product | Our group | Listed | Deadline | EPSS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2009-3459Heap-Based Buffer Overflow | Adobe Acrobat and Reader | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.87; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.87 | ||
| CVE-2007-5659Buffer Overflow | Adobe Acrobat and Reader | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.87; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.87 | ||
| CVE-2009-3953Universal 3D Remote Code Execution | Adobe Acrobat and Reader | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.83; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.83 | ||
| CVE-2009-4324Use-After-Free | Adobe Acrobat and Reader | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.82; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.82 | ||
| CVE-2010-2883Stack-Based Buffer Overflow | Adobe Acrobat and Reader | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.81; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.81 | ||
| CVE-2023-21608Use-After-Free | Adobe Acrobat and Reader | Patch this weekEPSS 0.61 | 0.61 | ||
| CVE-2021-21017Heap-based Buffer Overflow | Adobe Acrobat and Reader | Patch this weekEPSS 0.86 | 0.86 | ||
| CVE-2021-28550Use-After-Free | Adobe Acrobat and Reader | Patch this weekEPSS 0.52 | 0.52 | ||
| CVE-2008-0655Unspecified | Adobe Acrobat and Reader | Patch soon | 0.38 | ||
| CVE-2018-4990Double Free | Adobe Acrobat and Reader | Patch soon | 0.36 |
Read further
- CVE recordcve.org
- NVD entrynvd.nist.gov
- CISA's catalogcisa.gov
- EPSS for this CVEapi.first.org