CVE-2009-4324 — Adobe Acrobat and Reader Use-After-Free Vulnerability
Use-after-free vulnerability in the Doc.media.newPlayer method in Multimedia.api in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x before 9.3, and 8.x before 8.2 on Windows and Mac OS X, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF file using ZLib compressed streams, as exploited in the wild in December 2009.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
- Exploited by 1 threat actor(s) (MITRE ATT&CK)+10
- Public exploit/PoC (metasploit, exploitdb)+20
- EPSS 81.9% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
- Technical severity (high)+6
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
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.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
CISA required action CISA
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
US federal deadline: Jun 22, 2022 — passed 1576 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.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Opensuse Opensuse…).
- Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
- EPSS ahead of 100% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
- 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.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe | Acrobat | ≥ 8.0 and < 8.2≥ 9.0 and < 9.3 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Adobe | Acrobat Reader | ≥ 8.0 and < 8.2≥ 9.0 and < 9.3 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| Opensuse | Opensuse | version 11.1version 11.2 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| SUSE | Linux Enterprise | version 10.0-sp2version 10.0-sp3 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| SUSE | Linux Enterprise Debuginfo | version 11 | Vulnerable | NIST National Vulnerability Database |
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.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | High | — | — | CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 9.3 | CVSS 2.0 | High | 8.6 | 10.0 | nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
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.
- Adobe Doc.media.newPlayer Use After Free Vulnerability good Dec 14, 2009
- Adobe Doc.media.newPlayer Use After Free Vulnerability good Dec 14, 2009
- Adobe Reader / Acrobat - '.PDF' File Overflow verified Dec 23, 2009
- Adobe - 'Doc.media.newPlayer' Use-After-Free (Metasploit) (1) verified Apr 30, 2010
- Adobe - 'Doc.media.newPlayer' Use-After-Free (Metasploit) (2) verified Sep 25, 2010
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.
Threat actors exploiting this CVE MITRE ATT&CK
According to MITRE ATT&CK.
APT12 G0005EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 81.88%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
- Hunt retroactively in logs from before Jun 8, 2022 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- Affected products added · adobe/acrobat, adobe/acrobat reader, suse/linux enterprise debuginfo, opensuse/opensuse, suse/linux enterprise
- CVSS changed · 7.8
- Source status changed · → Analyzed
- Added to CISA KEV (detected)
- Record created in this database
- 2022
- Added to CISA KEV catalog
- 2009
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
24 on the record
- secunia.com/advisories/38215
- www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/3518
- www.adobe.com/support/security/advisories/apsa09-07.html
- blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2009/12/new_adobe_reader_and_acrobat_v.html
- secunia.com/advisories/38138
- secunia.com/advisories/37690
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
- www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/0103
- contagiodump.blogspot.com/2009/12/virustotal-httpwww.html
- osvdb.org/60980
- www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2010-0060.html
- www.shadowserver.org/wiki/pmwiki.php/Calendar/20091214
- www.metasploit.com/redmine/projects/framework/repository/revisions/7881/entry/modules/ex
- oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6795
- www.securityfocus.com/bid/37331
- www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/zero-day-xmas-present
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-4324
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi
- lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2010-01/msg00009.html
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-rv25-qx26-27xv
- www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/508357
- www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb10-02.html
- exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/54747
- www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA10-013A.html
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-82001 Acrobat Reader | Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400) Sep 8, 2026
- High CVE-2026-81996 Acrobat Reader | Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) Sep 8, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-81994 Acrobat Reader | Improperly Controlled Modification of Object Prototype Attributes ('Prototype Pollution') (CWE-1321) Sep 8, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-81993 Acrobat Reader | Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) Sep 8, 2026
- Medium CVE-2026-81997 Acrobat Reader | Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) Sep 8, 2026
- High CVE-2026-81986 Acrobat Reader | Use After Free (CWE-416) Sep 8, 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 fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- 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-2009-4324 is "Adobe Acrobat and Reader Use-After-Free 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 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 81.88% 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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