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Adobe Systems patched its free Reader and commercial Acrobat software late Monday to plug the latest in what one researcher called an "epidemic" of JavaScript vulnerabilities in the popular programs this year.
Dubbing the bug "critical," Adobe also acknowledged reports that exploits triggering the bug are already circulating. Both the Windows and Mac editions of the Adobe software require patches.
"A critical vulnerability has been identified in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 8.1.2 and earlier versions," said the Adobe alert posted Monday. "This vulnerability would cause the application to crash and could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system." Specifically, the patch plugs an input validation hole in Reader's and Acrobat's use of JavaScript, said Adobe.
Adobe Reader is the company's popular, free PDF viewer, while Acrobat is its for-a-fee application for creating and managing documents in that format.
Adobe last patched JavaScript bugs in Reader and Acrobat in February, although other fixes were issued in early 2007. In February, Adobe updated both programs to version 8.1.2 by patching nearly 30 problems. At the time, the company was criticized for not providing more information about exactly what was fixed, and why, in the 8.1.2. update.
Days later, reports surfaced that some of the JavaScript bugs patched this year had been exploited by hackers for several weeks, and had infected thousands of users.
"Adobe has an epidemic with regards to JavaScript," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Network Security, in an e-mail. "With this many JavaScript bugs in Acrobat, one begins to ask questions. Why would a full, thick application like Acrobat need to be using JavaScript, especially when JavaScript in the browser has historically been a target for hackers? And since JavaScript has been a target for so many years, why hasn't Adobe flushed out these vulnerabilities already?"
According to Adobe, versions 8.0 through 8.1.2 of both Reader and Acrobat should be patched; Reader and Acrobat 7.1.0, which were released in February, don't contain the bug and so don't need to be updated. Users still relying on version 7.0.9 or earlier, however, should update to 7.1.0, urged Adobe. Also, Reader 9 and Acrobat 9, which are expected to launch next month, are also not vulnerable.
The patch can be downloaded using links in Adobe's security bulletin.
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Prioritizing Services with IT Service Management (ITSM)
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Computerworld Live Podcast #97: The Future of Enterprise Networking 25/07/2008 09:45:36
This week CW Live chats with Mark Thompson, global sales and marketing manager for HP ProCurve, on the future of the enterprise networking. Mark discusses the trends we can expect to see in the near future and how the right infrastructure can ensure your enterprise network is secure. - +
Computerworld Live Podcast #96: Security at the Edge 11/06/2008 09:22:22
CW Live speaks with Amol Mitra, HP ProCurve Director of Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan. Today's topic: how enterprises are starting to shift away from simply controlling security via server logins, firewalls and moving to more adaptive security frameworks. - +
Data Management Edition #10: Multi-Petascale Systems 02/05/2008 09:12:33
This week we look at sustainability and the development of multicore technologies to build multi-petascale systems. - +
IT Security Edition #11: How to poison the Storm botnet 01/05/2008 08:51:55
This week CW Live presents a case study on how to poison the notorious Storm botnet . Plus we take a look at Cisco's plans for Ironport. - +
IT Security Edition #10: Cyber-battles fought and won 24/04/2008 11:09:47
Vendors bow to end user pressure to improve product security, and we take a look at the latest concepts shaping the cyber-battlefield of the future.
Viva la Verticals! Key to Vendor Growth is Through Vertical Market Opportunities, Says IDC 2008-09-05 11:05:00+10
F-Secure delivers fastest protection in the online world 2008-09-04 16:50:00+10
NETGEAR expands ProSafe team as business-class products take off in SME market 2008-09-04 16:27:00+10
Rogue security apps dominate Fortinet's Aug 2008 IT threat report 2008-09-04 16:00:00+10
Adaptec Intelligent Power Management Reduces Storage Power Consumption Up to 70 Percent 2008-09-04 11:28:00+10
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