CVE-2019-8048

published 2019-08-20

CVE-2019-8048: Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2019.012.20035 and earlier, 2019.012.20035 and earlier, 2017.011.30142 and earlier, 2017.011.30143 and earlier…

Priority P2 69 critical 9.8 CVSS 3.1

AV N AC L PR N UI N S U C H I H A H

EXPLOIT

Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2019.012.20035 and earlier, 2019.012.20035 and earlier, 2017.011.30142 and earlier, 2017.011.30143 and earlier, 2015.006.30497 and earlier, and 2015.006.30498 and earlier have a buffer error vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution .

Affected

7 ranges

Vendor	Product	Version range	Fixed in
adobe	acrobat_dc	>= 15.006.30060 < 15.006.30499	15.006.30499
adobe	acrobat_dc	>= 15.008.20082 < 19.012.20036	19.012.20036
adobe	acrobat_dc	>= 17.011.30059 < 17.011.30144	17.011.30144
adobe	acrobat_reader_dc	>= 15.006.30060 < 15.006.30499	15.006.30499
adobe	acrobat_reader_dc	>= 15.008.20082 < 19.012.20036	19.012.20036
adobe	acrobat_reader_dc	>= 17.011.30059 < 17.011.30144	17.011.30144
adobe	adobe_acrobat_and_reader	—	—

Detection & IOCs extracted from sources · hover to see the quote

path C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\CoolType.dll↗

filename CoolType.dll↗

bytes↗

0xFF 0x7F at offset 0x123bff in CFF font stream (mutated from 0xC0 0x95)

• → Crash/exploitation occurs in CoolType!CTCleanup+0x22e92 via an out-of-bounds write (mov dword ptr [esi+ecx*4],eax) when parsing a malformed CFF font stream inside a PDF. Monitor for access violations originating from CoolType.dll during PDF rendering. ↗
• → The vulnerability is triggered immediately upon opening a specially crafted PDF containing a malformed CFF font stream. The two-byte mutation (0xC0 0x95 → 0xFF 0x7F) at offset 0x123bff in the font stream is the trigger. Inspect PDF files for anomalous CFF font stream values at that offset. ↗
• → The call stack involves AGM.dll (AGMInitialize) calling into CoolType.dll font parsing routines. Suspicious call chains from AGM!AGMInitialize into CoolType!CTInit/CTCleanup during PDF open events should be flagged. ↗
• → Reproduces on Adobe Acrobat Reader DC version 2019.012.20035 on Windows 10. Prioritize detection/patching on this specific version. ↗

• · Affected versions span multiple Adobe Acrobat/Reader tracks; all listed versions are vulnerable and require patching. ↗
• · The crash reproduces both with and without PageHeap enabled, meaning standard heap instrumentation alone is insufficient to prevent exploitation. ↗

CVSS provenance

nvd v3.1 9.8 CRITICAL CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd v2.0 7.5 HIGH AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

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