Author: Ameeba

Overview

The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system has reported a significant vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader, identified as CVE-2025-43574. This vulnerability affects several versions of the Adobe Acrobat Reader, a widely used software for viewing, creating, manipulating, and managing files in Portable Document Format (PDF). This vulnerability is of particular concern due to the vast user base of Adobe Acrobat Reader, which spans across individual users, small businesses, and large corporations, making it a potential target for cybercriminals.
The vulnerability in question is a Use After Free Vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution. This means that an attacker could manipulate the software to execute malicious code in the context of the current user. Exploiting this vulnerability requires user interaction, specifically, the user must open a malicious file. The implications of such a vulnerability are severe, as it could potentially result in a system compromise or even data leakage.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-43574
Severity: High, CVSS Score 7.8
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: User
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Arbitrary code execution, potential system compromise, and data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Adobe Acrobat Reader | 24.001.30235, 20.005.30763, 25.001.20521 and earlier versions

How the Exploit Works

The exploit takes advantage of a Use After Free vulnerability in Acrobat Reader. This type of vulnerability occurs when a program continues to use a pointer after it has been freed. In this case, an attacker could trick a user into opening a malicious PDF file that contains a specific code designed to exploit the vulnerability. The malicious code is then executed in the context of the current user.

Conceptual Example Code

While the specific code to exploit this vulnerability is beyond the scope of this article, a conceptual example might look something like this:

# pseudocode
def exploit():
malicious_code = "..."
free(pointer)
# The pointer is now dangling
pointer.execute(malicious_code)

In this pseudocode example, the `malicious_code` would be tailored to exploit the Use After Free vulnerability in Acrobat Reader, leading to arbitrary code execution.

Overview

The vulnerability CVE-2025-54135 has been recently discovered in Cursor, an AI-based code editor. The vulnerability allows a potential attacker to write in-workspace files without requiring user approval, thereby leading to a possible Remote Code Execution (RCE). This vulnerability affects versions below 1.3.9 of Cursor and can lead to significant security risks including system compromise or data leakage. Given the increasing popularity of AI-based code editors among developers, this vulnerability could have widespread implications if not addressed promptly.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-54135
Severity: High (8.5 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Cursor Code Editor | <1.3.9 How the Exploit Works

The exploit works by taking advantage of a loophole in the file permission settings of Cursor. The code editor allows writing in-workspace files without requiring user approval. If the file is a dotfile, editing it requires approval but creating a new one doesn’t. Therefore, if sensitive MCP files such as .cursor/mcp.json do not already exist in the workspace, an attacker can chain a indirect prompt injection vulnerability to hijack the context to write to the settings file and trigger Remote Code Execution (RCE) on the victim’s system without user approval.

Conceptual Example Code

Here is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited using a shell command:

# Create a new .cursor/mcp.json file
echo '{ "settings": { "command": "malicious_command_here" } }' > .cursor/mcp.json
# Trigger the indirect prompt injection vulnerability
curl -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"filename":".cursor/mcp.json","content":"malicious_content_here"}' http://target.example.com/vulnerable/endpoint

The above code first creates a new .cursor/mcp.json file with a malicious command. Then, it triggers the indirect prompt injection vulnerability by sending a POST request to a vulnerable endpoint on the target’s system, which subsequently writes the malicious content to the settings file leading to RCE.

Remediation

The vendor has released a patch that fixes this vulnerability in version 1.3.9 of Cursor. All users are strongly advised to update to the patched version as soon as possible. As a temporary mitigation, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can be used to filter out malicious requests.

Overview

In the ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity, vulnerabilities are constantly being discovered and patched. One such vulnerability that has come to light is CVE-2025-43573, affecting several versions of Acrobat Reader, a widely used software across the globe. This vulnerability could lead to arbitrary code execution, potentially compromising user systems or leading to unauthorized data leakage. Given the ubiquity of Acrobat Reader, this vulnerability could have a wide-ranging impact, necessitating immediate attention and mitigation.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-43573
Severity: High (CVSS Score: 7.8)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Arbitrary code execution potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Acrobat Reader | 24.001.30235
Acrobat Reader | 20.005.30763
Acrobat Reader | 25.001.20521

How the Exploit Works

The CVE-2025-43573 vulnerability arises due to a ‘Use After Free’ flaw in the affected versions of Acrobat Reader. In essence, this means that the software continues to use memory after it has been freed or deleted. This can lead to unexpected behavior, including the execution of arbitrary code.
In the case of this vulnerability, an attacker would have to craft a malicious file, which when opened by a victim using the vulnerable versions of Acrobat Reader, would trigger the flaw and allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. This could potentially result in a full system compromise or unauthorized data leakage.

Conceptual Example Code

Here is a conceptual example of how an attacker might craft a malicious PDF to exploit this vulnerability:

# pseudo python code to create a malicious PDF
import PyPDF2
# Create a PDF object
malicious_pdf = PyPDF2.PdfFileWriter()
# Add malicious payload
payload = """
<insert malicious code here that triggers Use After Free vulnerability>
"""
malicious_pdf.addPage(payload)
# Save the PDF
with open("malicious.pdf", "wb") as f:
malicious_pdf.write(f)

In this pseudo-code example, the attacker crafts a malicious PDF that contains the code to trigger the ‘Use After Free’ vulnerability when opened in the vulnerable version of Acrobat Reader. The actual payload would be specific to the vulnerability and the attacker’s intended outcome (e.g., arbitrary code execution, data exfiltration).
Please note that the above is a conceptual example and is not intended to be used for malicious purposes. As a cybersecurity professional, it is our responsibility to understand these vulnerabilities to better protect our systems and data, not to exploit them.

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

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();)
>>
endobj

Here, 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.