CVE-2009-3459
8.8, high Known exploitedAdobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
- CVSS
- 8.8, high high CVSS v3.1
- EPSS, next 30 days
- 87% higher than 99.7% of scored CVEs
- Exploitation
- Confirmed in the wild
- Published
- 13 Oct 200917 years ago
Known exploited
CISA added this to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog on 20 May 2026. US federal agencies had to remediate by 3 Jun 2026, a deadline that has passed.
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.
Description
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.
Details
- Vendor
- Adobe
- Product
- Acrobat
- Weakness
- CWE-119 (opens in a new tab)
- Status
- Analyzed
- Updated
- 16 Jun 2026
- Assigner
- psirt@adobe.com
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
References 13
Patches and fixes 1
Advisories 8
- blogs.adobe.com /psirt/2009/10/adobe_reader_and_acrobat_issue_1.html (opens in a new tab)
- secunia.com /advisories/36983 (opens in a new tab)
- securitytracker.com /id?1023007 (opens in a new tab)
- securityfocus.com /bid/36600 (opens in a new tab)
- vupen.com /english/advisories/2009/2851 (opens in a new tab)
- vupen.com /english/advisories/2009/2898 (opens in a new tab)
- exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com /vulnerabilities/53691 (opens in a new tab)
- oval.cisecurity.org /repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6534 (opens in a new tab)
The kind is read from NVD's tags where present and from the shape of the URL otherwise, so treat it as a hint.
Other Adobe CVEs
Every Adobe CVE we holdSame vendor in what we hold, not a known link between the flaws.
- CVE-2026-75650 Adobe Commerce and Magento Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine Vulnerability KEV EPSS 4% 10, critical
- CVE-2026-71362 Adobe Commerce and Magento Incorrect Authorization Vulnerability KEV EPSS 88% 9.1, critical
- CVE-2026-48282 Adobe ColdFusion Path Traversal Vulnerability KEV EPSS 42% 10, critical
- CVE-2026-34621 Adobe Acrobat and Reader Prototype Pollution Vulnerability KEV EPSS 2% 8.6, high
- CVE-2025-54236 Adobe Commerce and Magento Improper Input Validation Vulnerability KEV EPSS 95% 9.1, critical
- CVE-2025-54253 Adobe Experience Manager Forms Code Execution Vulnerability KEV EPSS 88% 10, critical
- CVE-2024-34102 Adobe Commerce and Magento Open Source Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference (XXE) Vulnerability KEV EPSS 100% 9.8, critical
- CVE-2024-20767 Adobe ColdFusion Improper Access Control Vulnerability KEV EPSS 99% 7.4, high
Beyond this page
Is CVE-2009-3459 in your network?
This page tells you how dangerous CVE-2009-3459 is out there. Whether it sits on one of your devices, only a scan of your own network can tell. That is what our systems do, every day, for the companies we protect.
CVE-2009-3459 is in the CISA catalogue of exploited vulnerabilities: attackers are already exploiting it.
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EXYS7600 OCELOT
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EXYS7950 KONDRA
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Until the patch is applied, Kondra monitors your network, events and endpoints in real time. It keeps an inventory of the software installed on every endpoint, and its anomaly detection rules flag what an attacker does once inside.
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Assembled from the NVD 2.0 API, the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog and FIRST EPSS. Scores are as of our last collection on 18 Oct 2026, not the live upstream state.