Adobe has found a critical vulnerability in its PDF reader software, Acrobat Pro and Acrobat Reader, that affects all versions of the software on all platforms, including Mac OS X. This vulnerability “could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. There are reports that this issue is being exploited.”
With PDFs all over the place, no one thinks twice about downloading a PDF and viewing its contents. Adobe, in their advisory, says a patch for their software will not be ready until March 11, so in the meantime, if you use Adobe Reader to view PDFs, it would be a good idea to change your habits and use Preview, which, for many users, is faster and more efficient.
However, after further analysis, our security researchers have determined that, while the vulnerability in question exists in the Mac versions of Adobe Reader, the current exploits that are circulating do not affect the Mac.
