CVE-2020-9715: Adobe Acrobat Use-After-Free Vulnerability

Adobe Acrobat contains a use-after-free vulnerability that can allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on an affected system. This matters for IT and security teams because Acrobat is widely deployed for document handling, and successful exploitation can lead to full compromise of the workstation without user interaction beyond opening a crafted file.

How it works

The weakness is classified as CWE-416, a use-after-free condition. In this class of flaw, a program continues to reference memory after it has been freed, allowing an attacker to manipulate that memory region. An attacker can abuse the condition to influence program control flow and achieve code execution.

Technical readers should treat any use-after-free in a document parser as a potential remote code execution path. Exact trigger conditions and memory layout requirements are not provided here and must be confirmed against the vendor advisory.

Am I affected? How to find it in your systems

Adobe Acrobat runs on Windows and macOS endpoints, often as part of standard productivity deployments. Inventory all installations of Adobe Acrobat and Reader through endpoint management tools, software inventory agents, or file-system scans for acrobat.exe and related binaries.

• Compare installed versions and configurations against the versions listed in the vendor advisory.
• Review application allow lists and document-handling workflows that invoke Acrobat.
• Look for telemetry indicators such as unexpected child processes spawned by Acrobat, anomalous memory allocations, or crashes followed by continued execution.

Specific affected versions and configuration details are not supplied in the summary and must be confirmed against the vendor advisory.

How to remediate

Apply the vendor-supplied update as the primary remediation step. The CISA required action is to apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

• Deploy the update through existing patch-management processes and verify installation across all managed endpoints.
• For this class of memory-safety issue, ensure Acrobat is configured to run with the lowest practical privileges and that PDF handling is restricted to trusted sources where feasible.
• Follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for any cloud-hosted Acrobat services.

If you can't patch immediately

Until the update can be applied, implement compensating controls to reduce exposure. Segment endpoints that handle untrusted PDFs so they have limited network access and cannot easily reach sensitive internal systems.

• Consider virtual patching or application-control rules that block execution of Acrobat under suspicious conditions.
• Disable or restrict Acrobat features that process complex or external content if the vendor advisory identifies them as relevant.
• Increase monitoring for Acrobat-related process anomalies and retain logs for at least 90 days to support incident investigation.
• Discontinue use of the product on high-risk systems if no other controls are viable.

If your data may have been exposed

Actively exploited vulnerabilities of this type have led to breaches involving credential theft and lateral movement. Organizations can run a free exposure scan of their email domains against known breach data to determine whether related account information has already appeared in public datasets.