CVE-2009-3459

Exp

Heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 7.x before 7.1.4, 8.x before 8.1.7, and 9.x before 9.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF file that triggers memory corruption, as exploited in the wild in October 2009. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.

Published: 2009-10-13 Last update: 2026-05-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2009-3459 is rated Critical Active Threat (94.5/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 88.07%, 99th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2026-05-20) affecting Adobe / Acrobat and Reader. a weakness (CWE-119) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2009-3459

Name: Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2026-05-20

Action due: 2026-06-03

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2009-3459

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
16652 exploit_db edb 2010-09-25 Exploit-DB ↗
16546 exploit_db edb 2010-09-20 Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2009-3459

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-25 88.59% 88.07% -0.52%
2 2026-05-24 91.02% 88.59% -2.43%
3 2026-05-22 — 91.02% —

Full EPSS history (25 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2009-3459

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2009-3459

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2009-3459

GHSA-q52p-3m33-w676 · Severity: high — Heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 7.x before 7.1.4, 8.x before 8.1.7, and 9...

OS Trackers for CVE-2009-3459

vendor priority summary link
gentoo normal CVE-2009-3459: 1 GLSA(s) (200910-03), 1 atom(s) (app-text/acroread); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2009-3459
redhat critical — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2009-3459
ubuntu medium CVE-2009-3459 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (acroread), 6 status rows across 6 suites (dapper, hardy, intrepid, jaunty, karmic, upstream): released 4, ignored 1, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2009-3459

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2009-3459

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
adobe acrobat >= 7.0, < 7.1.4 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe acrobat >= 8.0, < 8.1.7 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe acrobat >= 9.0, < 9.2 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_reader >= 7.0, < 7.1.4 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_reader >= 8.0, < 8.1.7 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_reader >= 9.0, < 9.2 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2009-3459

URL Tags
http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2009/10/adobe_reader_and_acrobat_issue_1.html Vendor Advisory Broken Link
http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=7300 Not Applicable
http://secunia.com/advisories/36983 Vendor Advisory
http://securitytracker.com/id?1023007 Broken Link
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-15.html Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.iss.net/threats/348.html Broken Link
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/36600 Broken Link
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-286B.html US Government Resource
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/2851 Vendor Advisory
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/2898 Vendor Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/53691 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6534 Broken Link
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2009-3459 US Government Resource
cvelogic Threat Intelligence