CVE-2009-3459 Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-Based Buffer Overflow

What is CVE-2009-3459?

CVE-2009-3459 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, published on 13 Oct 2009. 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

Heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 7.x before 7.1.4, 8.x before 8.1.7, and 9.x before 9.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF file that triggers memory corruption, as exploited in the wild in October 2009. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.

Weakness: CWE-119, CWE-122

Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-3459?

It affects 2 products.

Products include Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader.

How do I fix CVE-2009-3459?

Apply the vendor's patch. US federal agencies must fix it by 3 Jun 2026.

Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.

Is CVE-2009-3459 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2009-3459 in the wild since at least 20 May 2026.

Public exploit code: 2 Metasploit modules and 2 Exploit-DB entries.

Other vulnerabilities in Adobe Acrobat

• CVE-2021-28550 Adobe Acrobat and Reader Use-After-Free Exploited Critical 9.6
• CVE-2021-21017 Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2014-0546 Adobe Reader and Acrobat Sandbox Bypass Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2014-0496 Adobe Reader and Acrobat Use-After-Free Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-3346 Adobe Reader and Acrobat Memory Corruption Exploited High 8.8

All Adobe Acrobat vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-q52p-3m33-w676.