PDFs Vulnerable, Say Security Researchers

(San Francisco) Computer security researchers said Wednesday they have discovered a vulnerability in Adobe Systems Inc. How ubiquitous Acrobat Reader software, network intruders to the PC through a trusted site links. Almost any Web site sponsored by the Portable Document Format, or PDF files are vulnerable to attack, according to researchers from Symantec and VeriSign to Help iDefense intelligence.

Attacks can range from theft of the cookies to track the users Web browser history, in order to create harmful worm, researchers said.

The flaw, disclosed for the first General Assembly hackers in Germany over holidays, there was a plug-in to enable users to browse PDF files acrobat Web browsers.

Link to the network through the manipulation of these documents, hackers and online thieves can use Acrobat software, and run malicious code, when a user tries to open a file, According to Ken dunham director of the rapid response team VeriSign iDefense intelligence.

Dunham this hypothetical situation: an attacker to find a PDF file on the banks website. An attacker to create a hostile Web site links to the bank PDF files. Including malicious JavaScript code will be run on a users computer knowledge once click on the link.

"PDF is a trustworthy and true and trying to - everyone is using it," d unham said. ", But it is not just viewing files, you should take the initiative scripts, should not be put to death, all you need to do is click on the PDF and the ball started rolling." Representatives from Adobe did not return a telephone contact last Wednesday night.

Against the flaw in Microsofts Internet Explorer 6.0 browser, as well as earlier versions, as well as Mozillas Firefox browser. , the researchers said.

They recommended that users protect themselves, upgrading Internet Explorer or Firefox user change options, the browser does not allow the use of Acrobat intercalation pieces.

Researchers said, it is unclear how the all-pervasive or harmful to the possibility of any future attacks.

"As this is very easy to exploit, I expect that we will see this as a method, in the next few days and weeks, until the issue is resolved," Symantec Posts researcher said: a companys Web log.