Adobe patches Download Manager bug

Adobe on Tuesday pushed out an update to its Download Manager application, which manages the process of installing new versions of Reader and Acrobat, to correct a "critical" vulnerability that could allow an attacker to execute malicious code. The issue was brought to light last week in a blog post by researcher Aviv Raff, who said the flaw "allows the abuse of the Adobe Download Manager to force the automatic installation of Adobe products, as well as other software products." Raff said that even though Download Manager is designed for one-time use and then is removed upon restart, an attacker can force a victim to install a vulnerable version of Reader and Acrobat, and then launch an exploit. — DK