![]() The disclosure of information from a PDF file could allow attackers to monitor a PDF file’s use by creating a connection to the attacker’s when a user opens the file. Six of the 18 Windows viewers tested were vulnerable to this exploit. As a result, a file embedded within the PDF document could execute a malicious file, whether it was located on the local machine, a shared network or the internet. This dangerous feature allows users to launch an application without appropriate precautions such as requiring the user to confirm the action. Many of the tested viewers implemented code execution by design in a straightforward manner by simply following the PDF reference. Remote code execution is the most damaging type of vulnerability for a PDF viewer since it allows hackers to run any program they want. The weakest PDF viewers tested were PDF-Xchange Viewer and PDF-Xchange Viewer for Windows, which were vulnerable to eight of the 10 attacks that the researchers tested. However, iSkysoft and PDFelement were only vulnerable to DoS attacks. Windows viewers were generally more vulnerable than those for the Linux and MacOS operating systems. The PDF viewers integrated into the Edge and Safari browsers were the most secure, and were the only ones to resist all exploits out of the 28 viewers that the researchers tested. Integrated viewers were only vulnerable to relatively minor attacks like denial of service (DoS) attacks. PDF viewers that are built into applications like web browsers were much less vulnerable to attack than standalone viewers, since browsers already have their own security. ![]() ![]() Fortunately, a number of solutions are available for these vulnerabilities. In the most serious cases, researchers were able to execute code remotely, read data and manipulate it. These techniques exploited standard features of PDF that are generally familiar to most hackers. The vast majority of PDF viewers are vulnerable to a variety of attacks, according to researchers at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany in a 2021 study. ![]()
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