Threats / Adobe / CVE-2010-0188
CVE-2010-0188
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
Adobe Reader and Acrobat vulnerability
Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat allows remote code execution or denial of service through CWE-94 code injection. Actively exploited in the wild and associated with ransomware campaigns.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
Critical remote code execution vulnerability in widely deployed PDF software. High EPSS score and confirmed active exploitation indicate immediate threat to enterprise and consumer endpoints. Ransomware operators have weaponized this vulnerability.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
12 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-03), flagged for known ransomware use.
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.88246 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Adobe, Reader and Acrobat. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-94 Code Injection — weakness family: Injection.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious PDF document exploiting the code injection flaw to execute arbitrary commands when opened by the target.
Business
End users opening email attachments or downloading files from untrusted sources face immediate system compromise and data theft risk.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I distribute the weaponized PDF through phishing campaigns or watering hole attacks to maximize infection across target organizations.
Business
Enterprise security teams face widespread endpoint infections, potential lateral movement, and ransomware deployment across the network.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I use the code execution capability to deploy ransomware payloads that encrypt critical business files and demand payment.
Business
Organizations suffer operational disruption, data loss, financial extortion, and reputational damage from ransomware incidents.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05