CVE-2009-3459 — Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

• Documented patch — www.adobe.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

CISA required action CISA

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

US federal deadline: Jun 3, 2026 — passed 134 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader).
2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
3. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
4. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
5. Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
6. EPSS ahead of 100% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
7. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-119 · Buffer Errors (Improper Restriction of Operations within Memory Bounds)

Other CVEs with this weakness →

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates

Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.

Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 12, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 86.58%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

• Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
• Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
• Hunt retroactively in logs from before May 20, 2026 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

• 2026
• Fix documented
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Affected products added · adobe/acrobat, adobe/acrobat reader
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Source status changed · Published → Analyzed
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Record published
  Oct 13, 2026
• CVSS changed · 8.8
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• Source status changed · → Published
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• SSVC assessment updated
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• Added to CISA KEV (detected)
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• Record created in this database
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• Added to CISA KEV catalog
  May 19, 2026 · CISA
• 2009
• CVE published
  Oct 13, 2009 · adobe

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

• 3× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
• 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

15 on the record

• www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/2898
  vdb-entry, x_refsource_VUPEN, Vendor Advisory, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2009/10/adobe_reader_and_acrobat_issue_1.html
  x_refsource_CONFIRM, Broken Link, Vendor Advisory, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• secunia.com/advisories/36983
  third-party-advisory, x_refsource_SECUNIA, Vendor Advisory, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/2851
  vdb-entry, x_refsource_VUPEN, Vendor Advisory, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-15.html
  x_refsource_CONFIRM, Patch, Vendor Advisory, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
  US Government Resource, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-286B.html
  third-party-advisory, x_refsource_CERT, US Government Resource, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6534
  vdb-entry, signature, x_refsource_OVAL, Broken Link, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-3459
  GitHub Security Advisories
• github.com/advisories/GHSA-q52p-3m33-w676
  GitHub Security Advisories
• www.iss.net/threats/348.html
  third-party-advisory, x_refsource_ISS, Broken Link, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• isc.sans.org/diary.html
  x_refsource_MISC, Not Applicable, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• securitytracker.com/id
  vdb-entry, x_refsource_SECTRACK, Broken Link, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• www.securityfocus.com/bid/36600
  vdb-entry, x_refsource_BID, Broken Link, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/53691
  vdb-entry, x_refsource_XF, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Elsewhere on this site

Related CVEs (same products)

• High CVE-2020-9695 Acrobat Reader | Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) Jun 23, 2026
• Medium CVE-2020-9711 Acrobat Reader | Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) Jun 23, 2026
• Medium CVE-2020-9713 Acrobat Reader | Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) Jun 23, 2026
• High CVE-2026-48294 Cross-site Scripting (XSS) in Adobe Acrobat Jun 17, 2026
• High CVE-2026-47965 Acrobat Reader | Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) Jun 12, 2026
• High CVE-2026-47959 Acrobat Reader | Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121) Jun 9, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

• No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
• No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
• No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2009-3459 is "Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Acrobat (Adobe); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 8.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 86.58% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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