Adobe mends security holes in Flash, Reader, Acrobat

The software company releases an update designed to patch critical security holes in three of its products.

Security flaws in Adobe Flash, Reader, and Acrobat could have been the cause of computer crashes recently. The software company announced today that it sent out updates for these three programs, which are meant to patch security vulnerabilities that cause such system crashes.

"These updates address a vulnerability that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system," the company wrote in a security bulletin today. "Adobe recommends users update their product installations to the latest versions."

Adobe does not give any further detail on the security vulnerabilities but does strongly recommend that users running all versions of Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Android update their programs. Similarly, the company warns that people using Adobe Acrobat and Reader 11.0.0 and earlier versions on Windows and Mac OS X, and Adobe Reader 9.x versions for Linux are at risk.

Adobe launched new versions of Reader and Acrobat in October. The new XI version of Reader beefed up the Protected Mode features of the program, while the latest Acrobat updated text and image editing.

Adobe Reader has been dinged in the past for security holes, requiring the company to push outone patch after another. It seems that despite the new version of the program, Adobe security patches are here to stay.