Channel Register

Original URL: http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/01/04/adobe_scripting_flaw/

Adobe scripting flaw unearthed

By John Leyden
Published Thursday 4th January 2007 11:49 GMT

Users are advised to upgrade their Adobe Reader software following the discovery of a potential serious cross-site scripting bug (http://secunia.com/advisories/23483). The vulnerability, which involves Adobe Reader 6.x and Adobe Reader 7.x, means it is possible to execute potential hostile JavaScript code simply by appending it to a PDF's URL.

The flaw, discovered by security researchers Stefano Di Paola and Giorgio Fedon and announced (http://events.ccc.de/congress/2006/Fahrplan/events/1602.en.html) at the Chaos Communication Congress conference in Berlin this week, might be most easily exploited through Adobe Reader browser plug-ins (http://www.disenchant.ch/blog/hacking-with-browser-plugins/34). Users are advised to upgrade to Adobe Reader version 8.0 to defend against attack, or to apply workarounds as suggested by the SANS Institute's Internet Storm Centre here (http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/815960). ®

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