A British security researcher, Petko Petkov, who recently identified flaws in Apple Quicktime and Microsoft’s Windows Media Player, has identified a serious flaw in the PDF file format. According to Petkov, the flaw could be exploited to take complete control of a Windows XP system if a user simply opens or views a malicious PDF file.
The media has chosen to dub it a “zero day vulnerability”. To me, that is more sensationalism or FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) than anything else. I may have been guilty at some point in the past of using the same hype, but as far as I’m concerned there is no such thing as a zero day vulnerability. There are zero day exploits, which are active exploits being used to attack vulnerabilities that have not even been identified, but really all vulnerabilities are “zero day” when they are discovered. For all we know, Adobe could develop and release an update to resolve the issue months before anyone comes up with a functional exploit, rendering the vulnerability meaningless.
At this point, it is accepted that the vulnerability exists. However, that is more or less theoretical since there are no known exploits yet. It is still possible that resourceful attackers have developed, or may soon develop an exploit, so users should still exercise increased caution when dealing with any PDF files- either as file attachments or opening them from within web sites. Enterprises may want to consider blocking PDF email attachments until the vulnerability is patched and raising awareness among users to beware PDF files. Discretion and diligence are warranted in my opinion, just not sensationalism and FUD.
Tags: Blog, Windows XP by Tony Bradley
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