Adobe Acrobat Vunerability
May 11, 2009
There is a newly discovered security problem in Adobe Acrobat (Windows, Mac, and Linux). It’s possible for a PDF document to contain malicious code and opening an infected PDF document can run the malicious code. Adobe is working on a patch for this problem. Symantec Anti-Virus will detect some, but not necessarily all, infected files.
Our current recommendation is unchanged: be cautious when working with any file you are not expecting. This advice applies to PDF files, whether obtained by email or via the web.
Many USM faculty and staff have posted PDF files on Blackboard, in common drives, etc.. An infected file would have to be newly created or edited by a malicious user or a person using an infected computer. As such, we expect locally created files to be relatively safe.
For more information on protecting yourself, review the 10 Steps to Data and Network Security on the USM Computing Services website.
