# CVE-2003-0434: Command injection in n/a

> Remote attackers can execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in embedded hyperlinks within PDF files viewed by affected applications.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 18 Jun 2003
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2003-0434, GHSA-857w-p662-mpmp

## What is CVE-2003-0434?

CVE-2003-0434 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, published on 18 Jun 2003. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Various PDF viewers including (1) Adobe Acrobat 5.06 and (2) Xpdf 1.01 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in an embedded hyperlink.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2003-0434?

It affects 7 products.


Products: Adobe Acrobat, Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux, Mandrakesoft Mandrake Linux Corporate Server, Redhat Enterprise Linux, Redhat Linux, Redhat Linux Advanced Workstation, Xpdf Xpdf.

## How do I fix CVE-2003-0434?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2003-0434 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2003-0434 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Adobe Acrobat Reader (UNIX) 5.0 6 / Xpdf 0.9x Hyperlinks - Arbitrary Command Execution (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Adobe Acrobat

- [CVE-2021-28550](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28550/): Adobe Acrobat and Reader Use-After-Free (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-21017](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21017/): Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-based Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2014-0546](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0546/): Adobe Reader and Acrobat Sandbox Bypass (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2014-0496](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0496/): Adobe Reader and Acrobat Use-After-Free (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-3346](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3346/): Adobe Reader and Acrobat Memory Corruption (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2003-0434 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2003-0434 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, published on 18 Jun 2003. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2003-0434 exists.

Affected product: Adobe Acrobat. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0434/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0434/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-0434
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2003-0434
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2003-0434

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2003-0434/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.