CVE-2020-9715
Use After Free in Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2020
Executive Summary
CVE-2020-9715 is a high severity vulnerability affecting binary-analysis. It is classified as Use After Free. This vulnerability is actively being exploited in the wild.
Precogs AI Insight
"Adobe Acrobat incorrectly handles the memory lifecycle of internal PDF objects, allowing them to be accessed after they are freed. By convincing a victim to open a maliciously structured PDF, an attacker can hijack the execution flow to run arbitrary code. Precogs Binary SAST engine identifies dangling pointers and use-after-free vulnerabilities within complex binaries."
What is this vulnerability?
CVE-2020-9715 is categorized as a high Use After Free flaw with a CVSS base score of 7.8. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.
Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2020.009.20074 and earlier, 2020.001.30002, 2017.011.30171 and earlier, and 2015.006.30523 and earlier have an use-after-free vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution .
This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.
Risk Assessment
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| CVSS Base Score | 7.8 (HIGH) |
| Vector String | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| Published | August 19, 2020 |
| Last Modified | April 14, 2026 |
| Related CWEs | CWE-416, CWE-416 |
Impact on Systems
✅ Remote Code Execution: Attackers can overwrite the instruction pointer to redirect execution to malicious shellcode.
✅ Memory Corruption: Overwriting adjacent memory regions can corrupt critical application state, leading to privilege escalation.
✅ Denial of Service: Triggering segmentation faults results in immediate disruption of critical systems.
How to Fix and Mitigate CVE-2020-9715
- Apply Vendor Patches Immediately: This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- Verify Patch Deployment: Confirm all instances are updated using Precogs continuous monitoring.
- Review Audit Logs: Investigate historical access logs for indicators of compromise related to this attack surface.
- Implement Defense-in-Depth: Deploy WAF rules, network segmentation, and endpoint detection to limit blast radius.
Defending with Precogs AI
Precogs Binary SAST/DAST engine performs deep structural analysis of compiled binaries, detecting memory corruption, control-flow hijacking, and privilege escalation vulnerabilities without requiring source code access.
Use Precogs to continuously scan your codebase, binaries, APIs, and infrastructure for this vulnerability class and related attack patterns. Our AI-powered detection engine combines static analysis with threat intelligence to identify exploitable weaknesses before attackers do.
Vulnerability Code Signature
Attack Data Flow
| Stage | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source | Memory allocation pointer |
| Vector | Pointer is accessed after the memory has been freed |
| Sink | Dangling pointer dereference |
| Impact | Memory corruption, sandbox escape, Remote Code Execution (RCE) |
Vulnerable Code Pattern
// ❌ VULNERABLE: Use After Free
char *ptr = malloc(256);
free(ptr);
// Taint sink: accessing freed memory
strcpy(ptr, "Exploit payload");
Secure Code Pattern
// ✅ SECURE: Nullifying pointers
char *ptr = malloc(256);
free(ptr);
// Sanitized state: pointer set to NULL
ptr = NULL;
How Precogs Detects This
Precogs Binary SAST engine identifies dangling pointers and complex use-after-free conditions in compiled rendering engines and system libraries.\n