Security Resilience

CVE-2007-5659

Memory Safety in Adobe Acrobat ≤ 8.1.2

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedMemory Safety
Published
12 February 2008
Modified
21 April 2026
KEV Added
08 June 2022
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.87 99.8th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2007-5659 is a high-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique NTDS (T1003.003); ranked in the top 0.2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

Multiple buffer overflows exist in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 8.1.1 and earlier versions, specifically within the JavaScript engine that processes PDF files containing long arguments to unspecified methods. The flaw is tracked as CWE-120 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8, reflecting high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability when triggered.

A remote attacker can supply a crafted PDF that, once opened by a user, executes arbitrary code with the privileges of the reader process. Exploitation requires the victim to open the malicious file but needs no prior authentication or elevated privileges on the target system.

Public advisories referenced for this issue, including those from iDefense, Secunia, and Gentoo, direct users to apply vendor updates that address the buffer overflows; the entry also notes possible overlap with the later CVE-2008-0655.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Multiple buffer overflows in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 8.1.1 and earlier allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a PDF file with long arguments to unspecified JavaScript methods. NOTE: this issue might be subsumed by CVE-2008-0655.

CWE(s)
CWE-120
KEV Date Added
08 June 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
attack.mitre.org →
T1003.008 /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump the contents of <code>/etc/passwd</code> and <code>/etc/shadow</code> to enable offline password cracking.
attack.mitre.org →
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
attack.mitre.org →
T1012 Query Registry Discovery
Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to gather information about the system, configuration, and installed software.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2013-3346Same product: Adobe Acrobatboth on KEV
CVE-2009-3459Same product: Adobe Acrobatboth on KEV
CVE-2009-1862Same product: Adobe Acrobatboth on KEV
CVE-2008-0655Same product: Adobe Acrobatboth on KEV
CVE-2010-0188Same product: Adobe Acrobatboth on KEV
CVE-2009-0927Same product: Adobe Acrobat Readerboth on KEV
CVE-2008-2992Same product: Adobe Acrobatboth on KEV
CVE-2013-0641Same product: Adobe Acrobatboth on KEV
CVE-2024-49530Same product: Adobe Acrobat
CVE-2024-20723Same vendor: Adobe

Affected Assets

adobe
acrobat
≤ 8.1.2
adobe
acrobat reader
≤ 8.1.2

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.2.1

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-120

Platform-independent managed code eliminates the need for unchecked native buffer copies that are the root cause of classic buffer overflows.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References