CVE-2010-0188: Adobe Reader and Acrobat Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability

86

Urgent

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

CISA KEV · Mar 3, 2022 R used by ransomware (CISA) Metasploit modules · 1 Exploit-DB · 4

How the score was calculated

Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
Used in ransomware campaigns (CISA)+10
Public exploit/PoC (metasploit, exploitdb)+20
EPSS 88.2% (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.

Exploitation

Confirmed

CISA KEV, listed Mar 3, 2022

EPSS FIRST

88.25%

ahead of 100% of scored CVEs · Oct 16, 2026

Affects

Adobe

Acrobat and 1 more

CVSS base

7.8

High · 4 source(s)

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.

Exploitation

Active

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

No

can an attacker script the kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Total

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

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: Mar 24, 2022 — passed 1668 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).
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.
EPSS ahead of 100% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
Search available logs for exploit probes, 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 < 8.2.1≥ 9.0 and < 9.3.1	Vulnerable	NIST National Vulnerability Database
Adobe	Acrobat Reader	≥ 8.0 and < 8.2.1≥ 9.0 and < 9.3.1	Vulnerable	NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

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

Attack vector

Local

Attack complexity

Low

Privileges required

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

CISA KEV details CISA

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

Listed

Mar 3, 2022

Federal deadline

Mar 24, 2022

passed 1668 day(s) ago

Ransomware use

Known

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.

Metasploit modules

Adobe Acrobat Bundled LibTIFF Integer Overflow good Feb 16, 2010

Exploit-DB

Adobe Reader PDF - LibTiff Integer Overflow Code Execution verified Mar 17, 2010
Adobe Acrobat - Bundled LibTIFF Integer Overflow (Metasploit) verified Sep 25, 2010
Apple iOS Mobile Mail - LibTIFF Buffer Overflow (Metasploit) verified Oct 9, 2012
Apple iOS Mobile Safari - LibTIFF Buffer Overflow (Metasploit) verified Oct 9, 2012

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 13, 2026 → Oct 16, 2026 · 4 reading(s) · max 88.25%

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.
Hunt retroactively in logs from before Mar 3, 2022 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.

endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

2026
SSVC assessment updated
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Record published
Oct 13, 2026
Affected products added · adobe/acrobat, adobe/acrobat reader
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS changed · 7.8
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Source status changed · → Analyzed
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Added to CISA KEV (detected)
Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
Record created in this database
Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
2022
Added to CISA KEV catalog
Mar 2, 2022 · CISA
2010
CVE published
Feb 22, 2010 · adobe

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

13 on the record

www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/0399
Broken Link, Vendor Advisory, vdb-entry, x_refsource_VUPEN, NIST National Vulnerability Database
www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2010-0114.html
Broken Link, Vendor Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT, NIST National Vulnerability Database
secunia.com/advisories/38639
Broken Link, Vendor Advisory, third-party-advisory, x_refsource_SECUNIA, NIST National Vulnerability Database
www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb10-07.html
Broken Link, Vendor Advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database
www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
US Government Resource, NIST National Vulnerability Database
secunia.com/advisories/38915
Broken Link, third-party-advisory, x_refsource_SECUNIA, NIST National Vulnerability Database
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/56297
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, vdb-entry, x_refsource_XF, NIST National Vulnerability Database
github.com/advisories/GHSA-g5pc-j3x2-5p8p
GitHub Security Advisories
oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A8697
Broken Link, vdb-entry, signature, x_refsource_OVAL, NIST National Vulnerability Database
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-0188
GitHub Security Advisories
securitytracker.com/id
Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, vdb-entry, x_refsource_SECTRACK, NIST National Vulnerability Database
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2010-03/msg00004.html
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_SUSE, NIST National Vulnerability Database
www.securityfocus.com/bid/38195
Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, vdb-entry, x_refsource_BID, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Adobe
every CVE for this vendor

2022-03
what else CISA listed that month

Related CVEs (same products)

Medium CVE-2026-82001 Acrobat Reader | Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400) Sep 8, 2026
Medium CVE-2026-81993 Acrobat Reader | Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) 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-2026-81997 Acrobat Reader | Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) Sep 8, 2026
High CVE-2026-81996 Acrobat Reader | Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) Sep 8, 2026
High CVE-2026-81988 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 CWE classification.
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-2010-0188 is "Adobe Reader and Acrobat Arbitrary Code Execution 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 88.25% 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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