# CVE-2016-1089: Use after free in n/a

> Attackers can execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors in Adobe Reader and Acrobat, requiring users to apply security patches.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Oct 2016
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q6v4-gc25-4jmv

## What is CVE-2016-1089?

CVE-2016-1089 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, published on 13 Oct 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat before 11.0.18, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 15.006.30243, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 15.020.20039 on Windows and OS X allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-1091, CVE-2016-6944, CVE-2016-6945, CVE-2016-6946, CVE-2016-6949, CVE-2016-6952, CVE-2016-6953, CVE-2016-6961, CVE-2016-6962, CVE-2016-6963, CVE-2016-6964, CVE-2016-6965, CVE-2016-6967, CVE-2016-6968, CVE-2016-6969, CVE-2016-6971, CVE-2016-6979, CVE-2016-6988, and CVE-2016-6993.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-1089?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, Adobe Reader.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-1089?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-1089 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-1089 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1089 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2016-1089 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-1089 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, published on 13 Oct 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-1089 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2016-1089/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1089/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-1089
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-1089
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-1089

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1089/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.