What is CVE-2009-3459?

CVE-2009-3459 is a high-severity vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, classified under Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2009-10-13.

How severe is CVE-2009-3459?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2009-3459 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2009-3459 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-05-20), indicating it is being actively exploited. 4 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Buffer overflow in Adobe Acrobat

CVE-2009-3459

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.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published 2009-10-13 · last modified 2026-06-16.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.866 (99.7th percentile), scored 2026-10-17.

High probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — patch promptly. 100th percentile — 99.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.866 · newest: 0.866 · change: +0.001

Affected products

Adobe Acrobat — versions 3.0, 3.1, 4.0
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Reader — versions 3.0, 4.0, 4.0.5

Weakness classification (CWE)

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2026-05-20. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2026-06-03.

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

secunia.com/advisories/36983 (Vendor Advisory, third-party-advisory)
oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval:org.mitre.oval:def:6534 (Broken Link, signature, vdb-entry)
www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-286B.html (US Government Resource, third-party-advisory)
securitytracker.com/id (vdb-entry, Broken Link)
www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-15.html (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
www.iss.net/threats/348.html (Broken Link, third-party-advisory)
www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/2851 (vdb-entry, Vendor Advisory)
isc.sans.org/diary.html (Not Applicable)
blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2009/10/adobe_reader_and_acrobat_issue_1.html (Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/36600 (vdb-entry, Broken Link)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2009-3459?: CVE-2009-3459 is a high-severity vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, classified under Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2009-10-13.
How severe is CVE-2009-3459?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2009-3459 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2009-3459 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-05-20), indicating it is being actively exploited. 4 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.