Overview
A significant vulnerability, CVE-2025-43550, has been identified in multiple versions of Acrobat Reader. This vulnerability is a Use After Free flaw that can potentially lead to arbitrary code execution, posing serious security threats to users and systems. The issue is particularly concerning due to its ability to execute code in the context of the current user, which means it can potentially lead to system compromise or data leakage. This vulnerability is significant as Acrobat Reader is widely used across various industries and sectors, so its exploitation could have widespread impacts.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-43550
Severity: High (7.8 CVSS score)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Arbitrary code execution, potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Acrobat Reader | 24.001.30235
Acrobat Reader | 20.005.30763
Acrobat Reader | 25.001.20521
How the Exploit Works
The CVE-2025-43550 vulnerability in Acrobat Reader is a Use After Free vulnerability. In such vulnerabilities, the program continues to use a pointer after it has been freed. This can result in an attacker being able to execute arbitrary code. In this case, the victim must open a malicious file, which triggers the vulnerability and allows the attacker to execute code in the context of the current user.
Conceptual Example Code
In the context of the CVE-2025-43550 vulnerability, an attacker might craft a malicious PDF file and attempt to get the victim to open it in one of the vulnerable versions of Acrobat Reader. Conceptually, the malicious file might contain code like the following:
obj
<< /Type /Catalog
/Pages 2 0 R
/OpenAction 3 0 R
>>
endobj
3 0 obj
<< /Type /Action
/S /JavaScript
/JS (var malicious_code = "/* malicious code here */"; malicious_code.run();)
>>
endobjHere, the `/JS` key contains JavaScript code that will be executed when the PDF file is opened. The `malicious_code.run();` line represents the execution of the attacker’s arbitrary code. Please note that this is a simplified, conceptual example and the actual exploit code would be more complex and specific.
Mitigation Guidance
To mitigate this vulnerability, users are advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, using Web Application Firewalls (WAF) or Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation. Regularly updating security software and being cautious about opening files from unknown sources can also help prevent such exploits.