CVE-2019-16446
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2019-16446 is an untrusted pointer dereference vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader that allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious PDF file. This affects users of Adobe Acrobat and Reader across multiple versions on Windows and macOS. Successful exploitation gives attackers full control of the affected system.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Acrobat DC
- Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
- Adobe Acrobat 2017
- Adobe Acrobat Reader 2017
- Adobe Acrobat 2015
- Adobe Acrobat Reader 2015
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control, data theft, ransomware deployment, and lateral movement within the network.
Likely Case
Malicious PDF delivered via phishing leads to full compromise of the user's workstation, potentially enabling credential theft and further network access.
If Mitigated
With proper patching and security controls, exploitation attempts would be blocked or detected before causing damage.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening a malicious PDF). The vulnerability is memory corruption-based and reliable exploitation techniques are well understood.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Acrobat DC: 2019.021.20061; Acrobat 2017: 2017.011.30156; Acrobat 2015: 2015.006.30506
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb19-55.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader. 2. Go to Help > Check for Updates. 3. Follow prompts to download and install the latest version. 4. Restart the application when prompted.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable JavaScript in Adobe Reader
allDisabling JavaScript reduces attack surface and may prevent exploitation of some PDF-based vulnerabilities
Edit > Preferences > JavaScript > Uncheck 'Enable Acrobat JavaScript'
Use Protected View
allEnable Protected View for files from potentially unsafe locations
Edit > Preferences > Security (Enhanced) > Enable Protected View for all files from potentially unsafe locations
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Block PDF files at email gateways and web proxies
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized executables from running
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Adobe Acrobat/Reader version via Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader and compare with affected versionsCheck Version:
On Windows: wmic product where "name like 'Adobe Acrobat%'" get versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is updated to patched versions: DC 2019.021.20061+, 2017 2017.011.30156+, or 2015 2015.006.30506+📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Process creation events for unexpected child processes from AcroRd32.exe or Acrobat.exe
- Application crash logs for Adobe Reader/Acrobat
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from Adobe processes to suspicious IPs
- DNS requests for known C2 domains following PDF file access
SIEM Query:
source="*security*" (process_name="AcroRd32.exe" OR process_name="Acrobat.exe") AND (event_id="4688" OR event_id="1") AND parent_process_name="explorer.exe"