-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 National Cyber Awareness System Technical Cyber Security Alert TA12-101B Adobe Reader and Acrobat Security Updates and Architectural Improvements Original release date: April 10, 2012 Last revised: -- Source: US-CERT Systems Affected * Adobe Reader X (10.1.2) and earlier 10.x versions for Windows and Macintosh * Adobe Reader 9.5 and earlier 9.x versions for Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX * Adobe Acrobat X (10.1.2) and earlier 10.x versions for Windows and Macintosh * Adobe Acrobat 9.5 and earlier 9.x versions for Windows and Macintosh Overview Adobe has released Security Bulletin APSB12-08, which describes multiple vulnerabilities affecting Adobe Reader and Acrobat. As part of this update, Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x will use the system-wide Flash Player browser plug-in instead of the Authplay component. In addition, Reader and Acrobat now disable the rendering of 3D content by default. Description Adobe Security Bulletin APSB12-08 describes a number of vulnerabilities affecting Adobe Reader and Acrobat. These vulnerabilities affect Adobe Reader and Acrobat versions 9.x through 9.5, and Reader X and Acrobat X versions prior to 10.1.3. The Adobe ASSET blog provides additional details on new security architecture changes to Adobe Reader and Acrobat. Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.5.1 will use the Adobe Flash Player plug-in version installed on the users system rather than the Authplay component that ships with Adobe Reader and Acrobat. This change helps limit the number of out-of-date, vulnerable Flash runtimes available to an attacker. Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.5.1 also now disable rendering of 3D content by default because the 3D rendering components have a history of vulnerabilities. US-CERT recommends that Flash users upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Flash Player and turn on automatic updates. An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by convincing a user to open a specially crafted PDF file. This can happen automatically as the result of viewing a webpage. Impact These vulnerabilities could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code, write arbitrary files or folders to the file system, escalate local privileges, or cause a denial of service on an affected system as the result of a user opening a malicious PDF file. Solution Update Reader Adobe has released updates to address this issue. Users are encouraged to read Adobe Security Bulletin APSB12-08 and update vulnerable versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat. In addition to updating, please consider the following mitigations. Disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader and Acrobat Disabling JavaScript may prevent some exploits from resulting in code execution. You can disable Acrobat JavaScript using the Preferences menu (Edit -> Preferences -> JavaScript; uncheck Enable Acrobat JavaScript). Adobe provides a framework to blacklist specific JavaScipt APIs. If JavaScript must be enabled, this framework may be useful when specific APIs are known to be vulnerable or used in attacks. Prevent Internet Explorer from automatically opening PDF files The installer for Adobe Reader and Acrobat configures Internet Explorer to automatically open PDF files without any user interaction. This behavior can be reverted to a safer option that prompts the user by importing the following as a .REG file: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AcroExch.Document.7] "EditFlags"=hex:00,00,00,00 Disable the display of PDF files in the web browser Preventing PDF files from opening inside a web browser will partially mitigate this vulnerability. Applying this workaround may also mitigate future vulnerabilities. To prevent PDF files from automatically being opened in a web browser, do the following: 1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader. 2. Open the Edit menu. 3. Choose the Preferences option. 4. Choose the Internet section. 5. Uncheck the "Display PDF in browser" checkbox. Do not access PDF files from untrusted sources Do not open unfamiliar or unexpected PDF files, particularly those hosted on websites or delivered as email attachments. Please see Cyber Security Tip ST04-010. References * Security update available for Adobe Reader and Acrobat - <https://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb11-30.html> * Adobe Reader and Acrobat JavaScript Blacklist Framework - <http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/504/cpsid_50431.html> * Background on Security Bulletin APSB12-08 - <http://blogs.adobe.com/asset/2012/04/background-on-security-bulletin-apsb12-08.html> * Adobe Flash Player - <http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/> * Adobe Flash vulnerability affects Flash Player and other Adobe products - <http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/259425> * Vulnerability Notes with advice to disable 3D rendering - <http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/bypublished?searchview&query=rt3d.dll> Revision History April 10, 2012: Initial release ____________________________________________________________________ Feedback can be directed to US-CERT Technical Staff. Please send email to <cert@xxxxxxxx> with "TA12-101B Feedback VU#124663" in the subject. ____________________________________________________________________ Produced by US-CERT, a government organization. ____________________________________________________________________ This product is provided subject to the Notification as indicated here: http://www.us-cert.gov/legal.html#notify This document can also be found at http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA12-101B.html For instructions on subscribing to or unsubscribing from this mailing list, visit http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/signup.html -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (GNU/Linux) iQEVAwUBT4St0z/GkGVXE7GMAQK56gf+N4gfsTH8ssv6GzNqliZtpkgx5MI/Vo71 bx/DERpK2AtQaNk3genyZ1vShMjfKUk7GmVQCeDvcTxhc+yNSSi3hSGyX7FQbl9E 6p9mMLRD9OwJ63xq3fGmydNsgQnUTsjjRxkxC1DdojtlJL3HRsYYBXxguKQaPI1p UiPoMDu5W7LJ/9f+zrMbc4Hf15366YY7XGMmFL68OpwbxOT3aRrfLC/v6FErqHli UUg79tEm8FpemBrIzusqePviNYkci2M3K5fByp9opGrttPhTZAL8ddYJKfCSm+Xg lFs5dAwD0SCI3SQxG5B8RhGgLLCz87O+ifE1Q2UjFAvB6XWQifYDwA== =5dGp -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----