CVE-2020-9596Public exploit

Signed PDF manipulation via hidden content

Published Jun 25, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Security bypass in Adobe Acrobat and Reader affected releases allows attackers to alter signed PDF content without invalidating its signature. Shadow Attack documents place invisible content inside the signed byte range, then expose it through changes that signature validation misclassifies as harmless. User interaction with a crafted PDF is required in 2020.006.20042, 2017.011.30166, and 2015.006.30518 and earlier; substituted content can appear valid.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability2.35%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Security bypass in Adobe Acrobat and Reader affected releases allows attackers to alter signed PDF content without invalidating its signature. Shadow Attack documents place invisible content inside the signed byte range, then expose it through changes that signature validation misclassifies as harmless. User interaction with a crafted PDF is required in 2020.006.20042, 2017.011.30166, and 2015.006.30518 and earlier; substituted content can appear valid.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-9596
Published
Jun 25, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 25, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.8NIST NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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