Description
Stack-based buffer overflow in CoolType.dll in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x before 9.4, and 8.x before 8.2.5 on Windows and Mac OS X, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (application crash) via a PDF document with a long field in a Smart INdependent Glyphlets (SING) table in a TTF font, as exploited in the wild in September 2010. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | acroread +1 | 9.4.0-1.el5 | RHSA-2010:0743 |
| RHEL 4 | acroread +1 | 9.4.0-1.el4 | RHSA-2010:0743 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Metasploit 2 modules
-
Adobe CoolType SING Table "uniqueName" Stack Buffer Overflow
exploit/windows/browser/adobe_cooltype_sing
-
Adobe CoolType SING Table "uniqueName" Stack Buffer Overflow
exploit/windows/fileformat/adobe_cooltype_sing
Exploit-DB 2
- Adobe CoolType - SING Table 'uniqueName' Local Stack Buffer Overflow (Metasploit) (2) EDB-16619 · local · Sep 25, 2010 · verified
- Adobe CoolType - SING Table 'uniqueName' Remote Stack Buffer Overflow (Metasploit) (1) EDB-16494 · remote · Sep 20, 2010 · verified
GitHub 1 repository
-
avielzecharia/CVE-2010-2883 ★ 1 · Sep 22, 2025
Playing with CVE-2010-2883
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 1
- RHSA-2010:0743 Red Hat Security Advisory: acroread security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 29, 2026
References
- SUSE-SA:2010:048 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2011-0191 vdb-entry
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:11586 vdb-entry signature
- http://www.adobe.com/support/security/advisories/apsa10-02.html
- 43025 third-party-advisory
- ADV-2011-0344 vdb-entry
- GLSA-201101-08 vendor-advisory
- ADV-2010-2331 vdb-entry
- VU#491991 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2010:0743 vendor-advisory
- http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb10-21.html
- TA10-279A third-party-advisory
- 41340 third-party-advisory
- http://community.websense.com/blogs/securitylabs/archive/2010/09/10/brief-analysis-on-adobe-reader-sing-table-parsing-vulnerability-cve-2010-2883.aspx
- adobe-reader-cooltype-code-execution(61635) vdb-entry
- http://blog.metasploit.com/2010/09/return-of-unpublished-adobe.html
- 43057 vdb-entry
- TLSA-2011-2 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SR:2010:019 vendor-advisory