Adobe Acrobat may block antivirus tools from monitoring PDF files

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Security researchers found that Adobe Acrobat is trying to block security software from having visibility into the PDF files it opens, creating a security risk for the users.

Adobe’s product is checking if components from 30 security products are loaded into its processes and likely blocks them, essentially denying them from monitoring for malicious activity.

Replying to BleepingComputer, Adobe confirmed that users have reported experiencing issue due to DLL components from some security products being incompatible with Adobe Acrobat’s usage of the CEF library.

“We are aware of reports that some DLLs from security tools are incompatible with Adobe Acrobat’s usage of CEF, a Chromium based engine with a restricted sandbox design, and may cause stability issues” - Adobe

The company added that it is currently working with these vendors to address the problem and “to ensure proper functionality with Acrobat's CEF sandbox design going forward.”

Adobe Acrobat may block antivirus tools from monitoring PDF files

Security researchers found that Adobe Acrobat is trying to block security software from having visibility into the PDF files it opens, creating a security risk for the users.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

I don't think it's all negative.
It could be a gain for security and stability.
We had the same with chromium-based browsers in 2018:

Google Will Block Third-Party Software From Injecting Code Into Chrome

Google has laid out a plan for blocking third-party applications from injecting code into the Chrome browser.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[Antimalware18]

Sandboxie's always free

 

[silversurfer]

Here is the full list of affected companies and products:

Trend Micro, BitDefender, AVAST, F-Secure, McAfee, 360 Security, Citrix, Symantec, Morphisec, Malwarebytes, Checkpoint, Ahnlab, Cylance, Sophos, CyberArk, Citrix, BullGuard, Panda Security, Fortinet, Emsisoft, ESET, K7 TotalSecurity, Kaspersky, AVG, CMC Internet Security, Samsung Smart Security ESCORT, Moon Secure, NOD32, PC Matic, SentryBay

Report: Adobe Reader is blocking antivirus tools from scanning loaded PDF documents - gHacks Tech News

Adobe is blocking several antivirus tools actively from scanning PDF documents loaded by its Adobe Acrobat Reader application, according to a security report published by Minerva Labs.

www.ghacks.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Report: Adobe Reader is blocking antivirus tools from scanning loaded PDF documents - gHacks Tech News

Adobe is blocking several antivirus tools actively from scanning PDF documents loaded by its Adobe Acrobat Reader application, according to a security report published by Minerva Labs.

www.ghacks.net

So, not a problem for Microsoft Defender?

 

[silversurfer]

So, not a problem for Microsoft Defender?

MD looks like unaffected, at least according to this report from ghacks. EDIT: Researchers main report shows the same list, so even there MD looks like unaffected.

The one notable exception, at least from a market share point of view, is Microsoft Defender, which is not blocked by Adobe's software.

Report: Adobe Reader is blocking antivirus tools from scanning loaded PDF documents - gHacks Tech News

Adobe is blocking several antivirus tools actively from scanning PDF documents loaded by its Adobe Acrobat Reader application, according to a security report published by Minerva Labs.

www.ghacks.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

MD looks like unaffected, at least according to this report from ghacks. EDIT: Researchers main report shows the same list, so even there MD looks like unaffected.

Report: Adobe Reader is blocking antivirus tools from scanning loaded PDF documents - gHacks Tech News

Adobe is blocking several antivirus tools actively from scanning PDF documents loaded by its Adobe Acrobat Reader application, according to a security report published by Minerva Labs.

www.ghacks.net

Great because we use Defender (for endpoint) at work together with Adobe Reader.
Maybe time to use Defender at home again