Is CVE-2009-1493 being actively exploited?

CVE-2009-1493 is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2009-1493?

CVE-2009-1493 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 6.8 (MEDIUM).

CVE-2009-1493

MEDIUM · CVSS 6.8EPSS 21.8%EU EUVD

The customDictionaryOpen spell method in the JavaScript API in Adobe Reader 9.1, 8.1.4, 7.1.1, and earlier on Linux and UNIX allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory corruption) or execute arbitrary code via a PDF file that triggers a call to this method with a long string in the second argument.

Key facts

CVSS score: 6.8 (v2.0)
Severity: MEDIUM
CVSS vector: AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Weakness (CWE): CWE-399
EPSS score: 21.8% (98th percentile)
In CISA KEV: No
In EU EUVD: Yes (EUVD-2009-1490)
Published: April 30, 2009
NVD last modified: June 16, 2026
Status: Modified

EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD)

This vulnerability is also tracked by ENISA as EUVD-2009-1490 in the EU Vulnerability Database. Last updated in EUVD on August 7, 2024.

View on the EU Vulnerability Database

Affected products

adobe / reader
adobe / reader
linux / linux kernel

References

http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2009/04/update_on_adobe_reader_issue.html(Vendor Advisory)
http://blogs.adobe.com/psirt/2009/05/adobe_reader_issue_update.html(Third Party Advisory)
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2009-05/msg00001.html(Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2009-06/msg00003.html(Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
http://osvdb.org/54129(Broken Link)
http://packetstorm.linuxsecurity.com/0904-exploits/spell.txt(Exploit)
http://secunia.com/advisories/34924(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/35055(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/35096(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/35152(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/35358(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/35416(Broken Link)
http://secunia.com/advisories/35734(Broken Link)
http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200907-06.xml(Third Party Advisory)
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-66-259028-1(Broken Link)
http://support.nortel.com/go/main.jsp?cscat=BLTNDETAIL&id=926953(Third Party Advisory)
http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb09-06.html(Third Party Advisory)
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/970180(Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource)
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2009-0478.html(Third Party Advisory)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/34740(Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1022139(Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA09-133B.html(Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource)
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1189(Broken Link)
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1317(Broken Link)
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/50146(Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/8570(Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)

Last updated September 17, 2026 · Source: NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org EPSS

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