Security bypass via omitted custom-protocol warning
Published Jan 14, 2022 · Updated Sep 16, 2024
Secure-design failure in Adobe Acrobat Reader 21.007.20099 and earlier allows attackers to bypass warning context via a malicious PDF. The link-warning prompt omits a sender-supplied custom protocol, concealing the external handler requested by the PDF in affected Continuous, 2020, and 2017 tracks. Exploitation requires a local user to open the crafted document and click Allow; the established consequence is misleading that user and exposing limited information, not code execution.
Summary
What happened
Secure-design failure in Adobe Acrobat Reader 21.007.20099 and earlier allows attackers to bypass warning context via a malicious PDF. The link-warning prompt omits a sender-supplied custom protocol, concealing the external handler requested by the PDF in affected Continuous, 2020, and 2017 tracks. Exploitation requires a local user to open the crafted document and click Allow; the established consequence is misleading that user and exposing limited information, not code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-44714
- Published
- Jan 14, 2022
- Updated
- Sep 16, 2024
- Vendor
- Adobe
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Classifications
- CWE-657, T1204.002
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 14, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=17.011.30204
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=20.004.30017
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=21.007.20099
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=None
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo