Adobe has published security updates for versions 7, 8 and 9 of Adobe Reader (which allows you to view PDF files) as well as the full versions of Adobe Acrobat to address security vulnerabilities that “would cause the application to crash and could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system”.
This means a malicious PDF you download from the web or receive via email or given to you on a flash drive could allow malware to be installed on your system and allows attackers to control your machine. Read a related Security Fix blog post by Brian Krebs at the Washington Post for more information about this vulnerability.
Read the Adobe Security Bulletins APSB09-04 Security Update available for Adobe Reader and Acrobat and APSB09-03 Security Update available for Adobe Reader 9 and Acrobat 9 for full details.
- Download Adobe Acrobat Reader v9.1 at http://get.adobe.com/reader/
- If you are using Adobe Reader v8.1.3, download Adobe Reader v8.1.4 update for Windows or Adobe Reader v8.1.4 update for MacOS X. You must be using v8.1.3 for the update to work, Adobe Reader 8.1.3 standalone installer can be downloaded at http://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/
- If you are using Adobe Reader v7.1.0, download Adobe Reader 7.1.1 update for Windows or Adobe Reader v7.1.1 update for MacOS X. You must be running Adobe Reader v7.1.0 for the update to work
(Note : updated at 9.45am to correct version typos and corrected Adobe Reader v8.1.4 update link – it was pointing to the full version of Adobe Acrobat and not the reader)
