Home/CVE/The customDictionaryOpen spell method in the JavaScript API in Adobe Reader 9.1, 8.1.4, 7.1.1, and earlier on Linux and
CVE
CVE-2009-1493
The customDictionaryOpen spell method in the JavaScript API in Adobe Reader 9.1, 8.1.4, 7.1.1, and earlier on Linux and
The customDictionaryOpen spell method in the JavaScript API in Adobe Reader 9.1, 8.1.4, 7.1.1, and earlier on Linux and UNIX allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or execute arbitrary code via a PDF file that triggers a call to this method with a long string in the second argument.
MEDIUM · CVSS 6.8
EPSS 0.76196
Act now
- EPSS ≥ 0.50 - high probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
- EPSS percentile: top 1% of all CVEs by exploitation likelihood
- Public exploit or PoC is available
Sigma rules1
YARA rules0
Look this up elsewhere - one-click external pivots
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How to read a CVE - triage first, then detect and patch
This page is every public fact about CVE-2009-1493, cross-linked. Its job is to answer one question fast - does this need my attention now? - and then hand you the two things you do about it. Here is how an analyst reads it.
Triage: should I act now? Four signals, and they are not interchangeable:
CVSSseverity - how bad it is IF exploited, 0-10. A high CVSS alone is not urgency; a flaw can be a perfect 10 and never actually be attacked.
EPSSprobability - a model’s estimate of the chance it is exploited in the next 30 days, 0-1. This is the “will it actually happen” signal.
CISA KEVconfirmed - it is being exploited in the wild right now. The strongest signal on the page; KEV beats any score.
Weaponisedavailability - public exploits / PoCs, and especially Metasploit modules rated Excellent / Great. Reliable, packaged exploit code means low-skill attackers can use it today.
How they combine: KEV, or a dependable Metasploit module, means patch now regardless of CVSS. High CVSS + low EPSS + no exploit is real but not an emergency - schedule it. Low CVSS but KEV-listed still gets patched now. The verdict above already weighed these for you; this is how it got there.
Then what - two workflows:
Detectwhen you cannot patch today, follow this CVE to the ATT&CK techniques it enables, then Build a SIEM detection (the green button) - author a rule, test it in Atomic, deploy it. That buys visibility while the patch waits.
PatchAffected products / packages tell you if you are exposed; Fixed versions by distribution and Vendor advisories give the exact version that closes it.
Reading order for the panels below: verdict + badges, then Public exploits / Metasploit (is it weaponised), then ATT&CK techniques + Sigma / IDS rules (can I detect it), then Affected products / packages + Fixed versions (am I exposed, what patches it), then Threat actors / IOCs (who uses it), then Scoring & timeline / references (the evidence).
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ATT&CK techniques
2Techniques this CVE enables - linked via CWECAPECATT&CK. High◆ = named directly in ATT&CK or Nuclei templates.
▤ Build a SIEM detection for these techniques⬡
Weakness Classification
CWE-399Resource Management Errors
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Affected Products & Versions
1adobe readerall versions
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Public Exploits & PoCs
8These PoC and exploit links come from public sources and are not verified to be safe or functional. Review the code before running anything, and treat unverified entries as untrusted.
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Sigma Hunt Rules
1Exact rules name this CVE ID. Product rules name an affected product in their title. Related rules cover techniques used by actors who exploited this CVE. Showing the most relevant matches; the complete related set is on the full drill-down.
productmediumPotential Suspicious Browser Launch From Document Reader Process
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Scoring & Timeline
6.8
MEDIUM · CVSS v2 (legacy) · [email protected]
This CVE predates CVSS v3; the legacy v2 score is shown so triage still has a severity to work with.
v2 Vector
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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Vendor Advisories
1🔗
References & Sources
23Source URLs (vendor pages, mailing lists, write-ups). Exploit/PoC links are in their own section above to avoid duplication.
http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2009/05/adobe_reader_issue_update.htmlThird Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2009-05/msg00001.htmlMailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2009-06/msg00003.htmlMailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://osvdb.org/54129Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/34924Broken Link