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Threats / Adobe / CVE-2011-2462
CVE-2011-2462 · EUVD no mirror located · GCVE no mirror located Verified 2026-06-22

Adobe Reader and Acrobat vulnerability

A memory corruption vulnerability in the U3D component of Adobe Reader and Acrobat allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service through malicious documents.

Verdict

Today item — known-exploited.

This out-of-bounds write vulnerability enables code execution via crafted U3D content embedded in PDF files. Active exploitation in the wild combined with high EPSS score indicates significant real-world risk to users opening untrusted documents.

CISA KEV Yes · 2022-06-083EPSS 0.86123 (verify live)4
01

Is it exploitable?

— the evidence, ranked above the score
Reported exploitation
11 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 2022-06-08).
CISA KEV ↗Confirmed
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.86123 — 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.
NVD ↗Reported
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-787 Out-of-bounds Write — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
NVD ↗Reported
WeaknessCWE-787 · Out-of-bounds WriteMemory safety
02

Who’s exploiting it?

— attribution turns risk into urgency
Attribution 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 board
1

Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1

Attacker
I craft a malicious PDF containing a specially formatted U3D object that triggers an out-of-bounds write in Adobe's parser.
Business
Users who open the PDF experience arbitrary code execution under their privileges, potentially leading to data theft, malware installation, or lateral movement.
2

Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2

Attacker
I distribute the weaponized PDF through email, web downloads, or document-sharing platforms to reach target users.
Business
Organizations face compromised endpoints, intellectual property loss, and incident response costs when employees open seemingly legitimate documents.
3

Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3

Attacker
I establish persistence on compromised systems to maintain access for follow-on attacks or data exfiltration.
Business
Extended breach dwell time increases exposure window, regulatory liability, and total cost of remediation across affected user base.
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

Coverage & confidence

— what we know, and what we don’t

Established (cited)

  • KEV listing (CISA)
  • EPSS probability (FIRST)
  • 11 reported-exploitation source(s)
  • CWE weakness mapping (NVD)
  • Catalogued by adobe (CNA)
  • Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden

  • No EUVD / GCVE mirror in feed — single-authority dependency for the identifier.
  • EPSS & exposure are time-varying; verify live at the source.
  • Threat-actor attribution not established from feed data — absence of a name is not absence of compromise.
  • No finder/reporter credit recorded in the public CVE entry — the work behind this find is unattributed.
  • Disclosure & credit2
    Catalogued by adobeCNA
    Credited with finding itNo finder named in the public CVE record — the work behind this find is unattributed.