Adobe Updates Available to Fix Reader Vulnerability (CVE-2009-3459) and Other Critical Flaws

Adobe Systems Inc. has released a new version of Adobe PDF Reader and Acrobat that fixes upwards of 29 security vulnerabilities, including the recent vulnerability CVE-2009-3459 that allowed cybercriminals the ability to drop a backdoor and obtain full control of a vulnerable computer.

Earlier versions of Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.1.3 had several vulnerabilities within them that could potentially lead to a system being compromised by a remote attacker. Cybercrooks were already using the CVE-2009-3459 vulnerability within the free version of Adobe Reader to take control of the compromised computers.

For those users who need to utilize an older version of Reader or Acrobat, are advised to use special instructions for updating to a certain version. Adobe has provided the full details on their site.

Computer users are highly recommended to update their software applications to lower the risk of being vulnerable to security holes that cybercriminals exploit. Adobe has a newer version of Reader and Acrobat available in the "solutions" area for Windows, Unix and Mac systems.