# CVE-2010-0188: Adobe Reader and Acrobat Arbitrary Code Execution

> Attackers can cause application crashes or execute arbitrary code in Adobe Reader and Acrobat via unspecified vectors.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 3 Mar 2022 (CISA KEV), used in ransomware
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Feb 2010
- **Updated:** 14 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-g5pc-j3x2-5p8p

## What is CVE-2010-0188?

CVE-2010-0188 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, published on 21 Feb 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Unspecified vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 8.x before 8.2.1 and 9.x before 9.3.1 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code via unknown vectors.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2010-0188?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader.

## How do I fix CVE-2010-0188?

Upgrade to a fixed version. US federal agencies must fix it by 24 Mar 2022.

## Is CVE-2010-0188 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2010-0188 in the wild since at least 3 Mar 2022, including in ransomware campaigns.

Public exploit code:

- Adobe Acrobat Bundled LibTIFF Integer Overflow (metasploit)
- Adobe Reader PDF - LibTiff Integer Overflow Code Execution (exploitdb)
- Adobe Acrobat - Bundled LibTIFF Integer Overflow (Metasploit) (exploitdb)
- Apple iOS Mobile Safari - LibTIFF Buffer Overflow (Metasploit) (exploitdb)
- Apple iOS Mobile Mail - LibTIFF Buffer Overflow (Metasploit) (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-2010-0188 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2010-0188 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, published on 21 Feb 2010. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2010-0188 in the wild since at least 3 Mar 2022, including in ransomware campaigns.

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-2010-0188/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0188/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-0188
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-0188
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2010-0188

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0188/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.