How severe is CVE-2009-3459?

CVE-2009-3459 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2009-3459?

Affected package information for CVE-2009-3459 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2009-3459?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2009-3459 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2009-3459 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 5 known exploit references for CVE-2009-3459, including 2 documented proof-of-concept exploits on Exploit-DB and 3 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2009-3459?

CVE-2009-3459 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 88.1%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2009-3459 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2009-3459 (Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2026-05-20. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2026-06-03. The required action was: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2009-3459?

CVE-2009-3459 is classified as Buffer Overflow (CWE-119), CWE-122 (CWE-122). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2009-3459?

CVE-2009-3459 affects adobe acrobat; adobe acrobat reader. Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2009-3459 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2009-3459 was published on October 13, 2009 and was last updated on May 21, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2026-05-20 — agencies required to remediate by 2026-06-03

CVE-2009-3459

HIGH

Heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 7.x before 7.1.4, 8.x before 8.1.7, and 9.x before 9.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF file…

Published

Oct 13, 2009

Updated

May 21, 2026

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

5 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

88.1%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

Heap-based buffer overflow in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 7.x before 7.1.4, 8.x before 8.1.7, and 9.x before 9.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted PDF file that triggers memory corruption, as exploited in the wild in October 2009. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.

Affected Products

2 products · 6 configurations

Application

acrobatadobe

≥ 9.0 && < 9.2

range

Application

acrobat readeradobe

≥ 9.0 && < 9.2

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-16652localwindows✓ Verified

Adobe - FlateDecode Stream Predictor 02 Integer Overflow (Metasploit) (2)

by Metasploit · Sep 25, 2010

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-16546localwindows✓ Verified

Adobe - FlateDecode Stream Predictor 02 Integer Overflow (Metasploit) (1)

by Metasploit · Sep 20, 2010

Exploit-DB Source

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2009-3459 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2009-3459 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my stack How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

8.8/10

CVSS v3 base score

Vector breakdown

AV:Attack Vector

Network

AC:Attack Complexity

Low

PR:Privileges Required

None

UI:User Interaction

Required

S:Scope

Unchanged

C:Confidentiality

High

I:Integrity

High

A:Availability

High

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE Classification

CWE-119Buffer Overflow CWE-122CWE-122

Weaponization

No known public exploit tooling found.

Timeline

Disclosed

Oct 13, 2009

First exploit

Sep 25, 2010

KEV added

May 20, 2026

Last updated

May 21, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2009-3459

Data from OSV.dev, enriched by O3 Security. Refreshed hourly.