Vulnerability Note VU#422807

The Adobe security bulletin APSB13-07 states:

Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Reader and Acrobat XI (11.0.01 and earlier) for Windows and Macintosh, X (10.1.5 and earlier) for Windows and Macintosh, 9.5.3 and earlier 9.x versions for Windows and Macintosh, and Adobe Reader 9.5.3 and earlier 9.x versions for Linux. These updates address vulnerabilities that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

A remote attacker may be able to cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code on the system in the context of the user running the Adobe product.

Apply an Update

The Adobe security bulletin APSB13-07 states:

Adobe Reader

Users on Windows and Macintosh can utilize the product's update mechanism. The default configuration is set to run automatic update checks on a regular schedule. Update checks can be manually activated by choosing Help > Check for Updates.

Adobe Reader users on Windows can also find the appropriate update here:
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=10&platform=Windows

Adobe Reader users on Macintosh can also find the appropriate update here:
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=10&platform=Macintosh

Adobe Reader users on Linux can find the appropriate update here: ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/unix/9.x/

Adobe Acrobat

Users can utilize the product's update mechanism. The default configuration is set to run automatic update checks on a regular schedule. Update checks can be manually activated by choosing Help > Check for Updates.

Acrobat Standard, Pro and Pro Extended users on Windows can also find the appropriate update here:
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=1&platform=Windows

Acrobat Pro users on Macintosh can also find the appropriate update here:
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=1&platform=Macintosh

Enable Protected View

Users of Adobe Reader XI and Acrobat XI for Windows can protect themselves from this exploit by enabling Protected View. To enable this setting, choose the "Files from potentially unsafe locations" option under the Edit > Preferences > Security (Enhanced) menu.

Disable Javascript

To disable Javascript in Adobe Reader and Acrobat, uncheck "Enable Acrobat JavaScript" under the Edit > Preferences > JavaScript menu.

Use the Microsoft Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit

The Microsoft Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) can be used to help prevent exploitation of this vulnerability. CERT/CC has created a video tutorial for setting up EMET 3.0 on Windows 7. Note that platforms that do not support ASLR, such as Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, will not receive the same level of protection that modern Windows platforms will.

Enable DEP in Microsoft Windows

Consider enabling Data Execution Prevention (DEP) in supported versions of Windows. DEP should not be treated as a complete workaround, but it can mitigate the execution of attacker-supplied code in some cases. Microsoft has published detailed technical information about DEP in Security Research & Defense blog posts "Understanding DEP as a mitigation technology" part 1 and part 2. DEP should be used in conjunction with the application of patches or other mitigations described in this document.

Note that when relying on DEP for exploit mitigation, it is important to use a system that supports Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) as well. ASLR is not supported by Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 or earlier. ASLR was introduced with Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Please see the Microsoft SRD blog entry: On the effectiveness of DEP and ASLR for more details.