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Exploit:W32/PDF-Payload.Gen

First posted on 04 March 2010.
Source: SecurityHome

Aliases :

There are no other names known for Exploit:W32/PDF-Payload.Gen.

Explanation :

A program or technique that takes advantage of a vulnerability to remotely access or attack a program, computer or server.

Additional DetailsExploit:W32/PDF-Payload.Gen is a Generic Detection for Portable Document Format (PDF) files that attempt to exploit vulnerabilities in Adobe Acrobat Reader. This type of malware may also be identified with the detection 'Exploit.PDF-Payload.Gen' or 'PDF-Payload'.

The specific vulnerability targeted by the malicious PDF files varies depending on the specific variant. For more information, please see the Vulnerability Descriptions Database.

This malware typically arrives as a PDF document sent as a e-mail attachment, usually with a title related to current events or purporting to be some sort of form.

Activity

If the document is run, successful exploitation results in additional malware executables being dropped/downloaded onto the system. A clean copy of the PDF may also be dropped and opened in Acrobat so as to give the illusion that everything is normal.

About Generic Detections

Unlike signature or single-file detections, a Generic Detection does not identify a unique or individual malicious program. Instead, a Generic Detection looks for broadly applicable code or behavior characteristics that indicate a file as potentially malicious, so that a single Generic Detection can efficiently identify dozens, or even hundreds of malware.


Prevention

Users should ensure all Adobe software is updated with the latest security patches. For the latest updates, please refer to the software vendor.

Last update 04 March 2010

 

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