Windows PDF Remote Code Execution

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Windows if a user opens a specially crafted .pdf file. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerabilities could cause arbitrary code to execute in the context of the current user.

If a user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

The update addresses the vulnerabilities by modifying how Windows parses .pdf files.