Adobe 12001196 - Acrobat - Mac User manual

Acrobat® Family of Products
Acrobat
Application Security Guide
(all versions)

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Adobe Application Security Guide for the Adobe® Acrobat Family of Products.
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Contents
1 Application Security Overview 1
2 Protected View 3
2.1€€€Overview 3
2.2€€€Configuration 5
2.2.2€€€Trust overrides 5
2.3€€€Unsupported configurations 7
2.4€€€FAQs 7
3 Protected Mode 9
3.1€€€Overview 9
3.2€€€Changes across releases 10
3.3€€€Configuration 10
3.3.2€€€Trust overrides 11
3.4€€€Read policy changes for 11.0 13
3.4.2€€€User experience 14
3.5€€€Unsupported configurations 15
3.6€€€FAQs 16
4 Enhanced Security 20
4.1€€€Feature interaction 20
4.2€€€Changes across releases 20
4.3€€€Configuration 21
4.4€€€Trust overrides 24
4.4.1€€€Privileged locations 25
4.4.2€€€Internet Access 25
4.5€€€User experience 26
4.6€€€Examples 28
4.7€€€Troubleshooting and FAQs 30
5 JavaScript Controls 31
5.1€€€Permissions basics 31
5.2€€€Workflow diagrams 31
5.3€€€Changes across releases 31
5.4€€€Disabling JavaScript 32
5.5€€€Blacklisting JS APIs 33
5.5.3€€€Trusted override 34
5.6€€€Disabling menu-invoked JS 37
5.7€€€Disabling global object access 38
5.8€€€High privileged JavaScript 38

5.9€€€Certified document trust 40
5.10€€€JavaScript invoked URLs 40
5.11€€€JavaScript injection 40
5.12€€€Workflow changes by version 41
5.12.3.2€€€Overview 43
6 Attachments 45
6.1€€€Black lists and white lists 45
6.2€€€Configuration 45
6.3€€€Blacklisted extensions 48
7 Cross Domain Configuration 51
7.1€€€Cross domain basics 51
7.1.6€€€User experience 55
7.2€€€Policy file configuration 56
7.3€€€Certificate-based permissions 60
7.4€€€Server configuration 63
7.5€€€Calling policies via JavaScript 67
7.6€€€Troubleshooting 67
8 External Content Access 76
8.1€€€Internet access 76
8.1.1€€€Changes across releases 76
8.1.2€€€Configuration 76
8.2€€€Multimedia (legacy) 78
8.3€€€XObjects 82
8.4€€€3D content (9.5.1 and later) 83
8.5€€€Flash integration 83
9 Trust Methods 85
9.1€€€Privileged locations 85
9.1.1€€€Changes across releases 85
9.2€€€Internet access 89
9.3€€€Certified document trust 89
9.4€€€Per-certificate trust 90
9.5€€€Cross domain trust 90
9.6€€€XObject (stream) access 91
10 Content security 92

1 Application Security Overview
This Application Security Guide describes configuration details for the Acrobat family of products,
including sandboxing (Protected View and Protected Mode), enhanced security, scripting controls,
attachments, and other features. The primary goal here is to encourage enterprise stakeholders who
configure and deploy clients to manage them in a secure way. This content is designed for IT
administrators, workflow owners, and technically savvy users who need to customize their application's
security capabilities.
Adobe provides a security model designed to help you protect your environment from security attacks.
You should explore the options for tuning applications for the desired security level. The big picture is
relatively simple: Acrobat products allow you to apply application-wide protections and disable risky
features while at the same time allowing you to selectively assign trust to files, folders, hosts, protocols,
apis, and other workflow components.
Note
The easiest way to propagate settings across your organization is to configure an installed application
and then use the Customization Wizard's registry feature to copy the settings to the application
installer.
Best practice checklist
Protect your systems and users
1. Enable Protected Mode.
2. Enable Protected View.
3. Enable Enhanced Security.
4. Review the JavaScript controls and set as needed.
5. Review the attachment white and black lists.
6. Review multimedia restrictions.
7. Review settings for XObjects, 3D content, and Flash.
Assign trust to workflow components
1. Set up privileged locations for files, folders, and hosts.
2. Use Trust Manager to configure internet access if you need more control than that offered by
Privileged Locations.
3. Set up cross domain access if you need it.
4. For digital signature workflows, set certificate trust and control user interaction with signed PDFs via
certificates, seed values, etc.
Many HKCU settings have an HKLM mirror so that IT can disable, lock, and control permissions in a way
that prevents end user changes.
Additional resources
Core Documentation
Resource Description
Application Security Guide Section 1€€€Application Security Overview
Section 1€€€Application Security Overview Page 1

Preference Reference A dictionary of plist and registry configuration preferences.
Enhanced Security Quick Key A one page guide to enhanced security configuration.
JavaScript Quick Key A one page guide to JavaScript execution workflows and configuration.
IT-centric videos A series of configuration and deployment videos for enterprise IT.
Specs, Tools, Whitepapers
Resource Description
JavaScript Blacklist Tool This LABs utility allows IT to modify the JS API blacklist for any Acrobat product.
Flash Security in Acrobat Describes the security model when Flash runs inside a PDF document.
Cross Domain Policy File Specification A specification and guide for creating server-based cross domain policy files with examples.
News
Resource Description
Security Bulletins & Advisories Keep abreast of the latest updates which mitigate security issues.
Security Notification Service Receive alerts about vulnerabilities and updates.
Incident Response Team Blog Get news and pre-notification of updates about all Adobe products.
Secure Software Eng. Team Blog Track news and events from Adobe and the security software industry.
Section 1€€€Application Security Overview Application Security Guide
Page 2 Section 1€€€Application Security Overview

2 Protected View
On Windows, Acrobat 10.1 introduced a sandbox called Protected View (PV). With 11.0, the feature is
extended to Reader. PV is a highly secure, read-only mode that blocks most actions and application
behavior until the user decides whether or not to trust the document.
PV is another defense-in-depth feature that is tightly integrated with the existing enhanced security
feature. PV in Acrobat leverages the successful sandbox implementation already in place for Adobe
Reader while providing a user experience that should be familiar to Microsoft Office 2010 users.
Protected View
2.1 Overview
Under the covers, the PV sandbox is similar to Reader's Protected Mode sandbox and provides equal
protection. Just like Reader, Acrobat strictly confines the execution environment of untrusted programs;
that is, any PDF and the processes it invokes. When PV is enabled, Acrobat assumes some or all PDFs
are potentially malicious based on user preferences and confines processing to a restricted sandbox.
Note
For links to all documentation about Reader's sandbox, see
http://learn.adobe.com/wiki/display/security/Protected+Mode+FAQ.
Due to the rich nature of Acrobat's capabilities, Acrobat's behavior with PV enabled is slightly more
complex than Reader's. The Acrobat team has specifically tailored application behavior for two types of
scenarios: viewing PDFs with the standalone application and viewing PDFs with a browser. The rationale
behind providing two protection experiences was driven by a need to preserve usability as well as the right
level of functionality and security in each mode.
2.1.1 PV in a standalone product
In the standalone application, behavior is simple and parallels the Protected View provided by Office
2010. During a file download and/or save, web browsers and email programs typically mark documents
such as Internet files and attachments with a "potentially unsafe" flag. When you open such a document,
Application Security Guide Section 2€€€Protected View
Section 2€€€Protected View Page 3

Acrobat displays a warning bar at the top of the viewing window. In this state, many of Acrobat's features
that interact with and change the document are disabled and the associated menu items are greyed out in
order to limit user interaction.
The view is essentially read-only, and the disabled features prevent any embedded or tag-along malicious
content from tampering with your system. Once you've decided to trust the document, choosing Enable
All Features exits PV, re-enables all menu items, and provides permanent trust for the file by adding to
enhanced security's list of privileged locations (see Integration with enhanced security. The document is
now open in a full, unsandboxed Acrobat process.
Protected View: Yellow message bar
2.1.2 PV in a browser
When a PDF is opened in a browser, Protected View provides a streamlined experience that doesn't
utilize a warning bar. Instead, browser-based PDFs provide a Reader-like experience for documents that
have been "rights enabled." That is, all of Reader's features are available in addition to features that
become enabled when a document author uses Acrobat to extend features to Reader users. These
features include signing existing form fields, adding new signature fields, saving form data, etc.
In this respect, a PDF in the browser's Protected View is more capable than a PDF in the standalone
Protected View. On the other hand, the browser-based capabilities are always limited while the
standalone application enables users to achieve full functionality with a single click of a button.
Protected View 10.x: standalone vs browser functionality
Feature Standalone Browser
Drag-drop PDFs to the reading or navigation
pane
No Yes
Printing No Yes
Advanced Printing No No
Saving No Yes
Pan and Zoom No No
Loupe Tool No No
Reading mode No Yes
Full screen mode No Yes
Protected View 11.x: standalone vs browser functionality
Feature Standalone Browser
Drag-drop PDFs to the reading or navigation
pane
No No
Printing No No
Advanced Printing No No
Saving No No
Pan and Zoom No No
Loupe Tool No No
Reading mode No Yes
Full screen mode No No
Section 2€€€Protected View Application Security Guide
Page 4 Section 2€€€Protected View

2.2 Configuration
2.2.1 UI and registry config
Protected View can be enabled, disabled, and configured in other ways to provide the level of security you
need. That is, you decide when and how to use Protected View based on your level of trust for the PDFs
you interact with.
1. Go to Preferences > Security (Enhanced).
2. In the Protected View panel, select one of the following to set iProtectedView:
Registry configuration enables pre and post deployment configuration via the Customization Wizard,
scripts, GPO, and other IT-centric methodologies. The application often uses internal keys that aren't
visible by default. If the requisite key does not exist, manually create it.
2.2.2 Trust overrides
There are several ways to assign trust so that this feature works in a trusted context:
• Users can trust documents on-the-fly when the PDF opens: When the Yellow Message Bar appears,
choose the Options button and then trust the document once or always.
• Create a privileged location via the UI for the file, folder, or host.
• Create a privileged location via the registry/plist by placing a tID at:
[HKCU\Software\Adobe\<product name>\<version>\TrustManager\<cTrustedSites or TrustedFolders>\]
"(All of the cabs are populated)"
2.2.3 Locking Protected View
Protected View can be locked so that the end user cannot change the setting. When locked, the user
interface is disabled (greyed out). To do so, simply set the HKLM key as you would HKCU:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\<product name>\<version>\FeatureLockDown]
"iProtectedView"
2.2.4 Enabling logging
Logging is available for users who need to troubleshoot problems where a workflow or plugin does not
work when Protected Mode is enabled. The log may provide guidance as to whether a custom policy file
should be used to re-enable broken workflows or plugins.
In addition to enabling logging via the UI (above), you can turn on logging and configure a log file location
via the registry.
To enable logging, specify a log file location:
1. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\10.0\Privileged.
2. Right click and choose New > REG_SZ Value.
Application Security Guide Section 2€€€Protected View
Section 2€€€Protected View Page 5

3. Create tBrokerLogfilePath.
4. Right click on tBrokerLogfilePath and choose Modify.
5. Set the value. For example: C:\DOCUME~1\<username>\LOCALS~1\Temp\BrL4FBA.tmp
Policy logging for a policy violation:
[08:12/13:46:16] real_path: \BaseNamedObjects\ZonesCacheCounterMutex
[08:12/13:46:16] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: MUTANT_ALLOW_ANY
[08:12/13:46:16] NtCreateMutant: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED
[08:12/13:46:16] real_path: \BaseNamedObjects\ZonesLockedCacheCounterMutex
[08:12/13:46:16] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: MUTANT_ALLOW_ANY
[08:12/13:46:16] NtCreateKey: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED
[08:12/13:46:16] real path: \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-762979615-2031575299-929701000-51250\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
[08:12/13:46:16] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: REG_ALLOW_ANY
[08:12/13:46:16] NtCreateKey: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED
[08:12/13:46:16] real path: \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-762979615-2031575299-929701000-51250\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
[08:12/13:46:16] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: REG_ALLOW_ANY
2.2.5 Policy configuration
Protected view prevents a number of actions which IT can bypass by creating a white list of allowed
actions. The component that reads these policies is called a "broker." The broker performs actions based
on those policies, and when an admin provides a properly configured policy file, the broker can bypass the
application's default restrictions.
The broker first reads and applies all custom policies prior to applying the default policies. Since custom
policies take precedence, they are useful for fixing broken workflows, supporting third party plug-ins, and
cases where an unsupported machine configurations cause the Protected Mode to impair required
functionality.
Configurable policies have two requirements:
• They must reside in the Reader install directory adjacent to the AcroRd32.exe in the install folder:
D:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat 10.0\Acrobat\
• The name of the policy file must be ProtectedModeWhitelistConfig.txt.
2.2.5.1 Enabling custom policies
To allow the application to read and use a policy file, registry configuration is required. To enable policy
files:
1. Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\10.0\FeatureLockDown.
2. Right click and choose New > DWORD Value.
3. Create bUseWhitelistConfigFile.
4. Right click on bUseWhitelistConfigFile and choose Modify.
5. Set the value to 1 to enable the white list.
2.2.6 Verifying PV is on
While you can verify whether the application has Protected View enabled by viewing the Enhanced
Security panel, it is also possible to verify the document you are currently viewing is subject to Protected
View's protections.
Note
Section 2€€€Protected View Application Security Guide
Page 6 Section 2€€€Protected View

When using the standalone application, verification should be obvious since a document that opens in
Protected View displays the Yellow Message Bar.
To verify if the browser-based document you are viewing is opened in Protected View:
1. Open a PDF in a browser.
2. Right click on the document.
3. Choose Document Properties > Advanced tab. When Protected Mode or View is invoked, the
status will be Protected Mode: On.
2.3 Unsupported configurations
When Protected View cannot launch due to an unsupported configuration, a dialog alerts the user of the
incompatibility and provides the user with the option to disable Protected View.
Unsupported configurations for Acrobat running in Protected View change across releases as the product
evolves. For example, Protected Mode supports Citrix and Windows Terminal Services deployments with
10.1. For a list of unsupported configurations and workarounds, see
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/860/cpsid_86063.html.
Protected View: Unsupported configuration dialog
2.4 FAQs
Design principles
Some of the high-level design criteria for Protected View include the following:
•PDFs in a browser are more functional than PDFs in a Reader's sandbox: For PV in a browser,
the UI provides access to all of the features provided by Reader as well as the features that are
available for any rights enabled document when viewed in Reader.
•As secure as sandboxed Reader: Acrobat leverages the same technology and implementation as
Reader and is just as secure.
•Transitioning out of PV should be simple: In PV, exiting the read-only mode is as simple as
choosing Enable All Features.
•Disabled features should not be hidden: If a feature is not enabled in the sandbox, the UI still
displays the disabled feature in the menu as a greyed out item.
•Trust can be assigned to documents so that they bypass PV restrictions: Because of its
integration with enhanced security, users can specify files, folders, and hosts as privileged locations
that are not subject to PV trust restrictions. PDFs originating from a privileged location will not open
in PV.
Application Security Guide Section 2€€€Protected View
Section 2€€€Protected View Page 7

System requirements?
Due to the fundamental differences in OS and product implementations, sandbox designs must be tailored
to each environment. The current release includes support for the following:
• Adobe Acrobat 10.1 or later.
• Windows 32 and 64 bit platforms, including XP SP3. Adobe's initial efforts focus on hardening its
Windows products because there are more Windows users and Windows applications with proven
sandboxing implementations.
• Any supported browser. PDFs opened in a browser run inside Acrobat's sandboxed process. For IE,
Acrobat uses IE's trust zone settings.
When should Protected View be enabled or disabled?
Protected View should be enabled all the time for casual users who interact with PDFs in unsecure
environments. There are a limited number of cases where you might want to disable Protected View:
• In enterprise settings where PDF workflows are entirely confined to trusted environments under an
administrator's control.
• If you have third-party or custom plugins that cause issues when running in Protected View. For
example, some workflows that use ActiveX plugins may not work by default.
How many processes should be running when I use Protected View?
Open the process explorer or task manager. When in Protected View, two AcroRd32.exe processes will
be running alongside the Acrobat.exe process. More processes will appear based on how many browser
instances you have viewing a PDF, invoked shell extensions, and iFilter.
Protected View: processes
Section 2€€€Protected View Application Security Guide
Page 8 Section 2€€€Protected View

3 Protected Mode
Protected Mode (PM) was introduced with Reader 10.0 on Windows. It transparently protects users
against attacks by sandoxing application processes. Protected Mode is one of the most powerful features
in Reader's security arsenal. Note that several dot releases have NOT included a Reader update for
Windows because the application is not subject to many vulnerabilities when Protected Mode is enabled.
3.1 Overview
What is a "sandbox" and Protected Mode?
For application developers, sandboxing is a technique for creating a confined execution environment for
running untrusted programs. In the context of Adobe Reader, the "untrusted program" is any PDF and the
processes it invokes. When Reader sandboxing is enabled, Reader assumes all PDFs are potentially
malicious and confines any processing they invoke to the sandbox.
Sandboxes are typically used when data (such as documents or executable code) arrives from an
untrusted source. A sandbox limits, or reduces, the level of access its applications have. For example,
creating and executing files and modifying system information such as certain registry settings and other
control panel functions may be prohibited.
If a process P runs a child process Q in a sandbox, then Q's privileges would typically be restricted to a
subset of P's. For example, if P is running on a system, then P may be able to look at all processes on the
system. Q, however, will only be able to look at processes that are in the same sandbox as Q. Barring any
vulnerabilities in the sandbox mechanism itself, the scope of potential damage caused by a misbehaving
Q is reduced.
The Reader sandbox leverages the operating system's security controls, and processes execute under a
"principle of least privileges." Thus, processes that could be subject to an attacker's control run with
limited capabilities and must perform actions such as reading and writing through a separate, trusted
process. This design has two primary effects:
• All PDF processing such as PDF and image parsing, JavaScript execution, and 3D rendering
happens in the sandbox and are subject to its limits; for example, processes cannot access other
processes.
• Processes that need to perform some action outside the sandbox boundary must do so through a
trusted proxy called a "broker process."
Sandboxing is relatively new for most enterprise applications because it is difficult to implement in mature
software (e.g. millions of lines of code) that is already deployed across an almost limitless number of
environments. A few recently shipped products that demonstrate the sandboxing proof of concept include
Microsoft Office 2007 MOICE, Google Chrome's rendering engine, and Office 2010 Protected View. The
challenge is to enable sandboxing while keeping user workflows functional and without turning off features
on which users depend. The ultimate goal is to proactively provide a high level of protection rather than
just fixing bugs and vulnerabilities as they appear.
System requirements
Due to the fundamental differences in OS and product implementations, sandbox designs must be tailored
to each environment. The current release includes support for the following:
• Adobe Reader 10.0.
• Windows 32 and 64 bit platforms, including XP. Much like Google's Chrome, Adobe's initial efforts
are focused on hardening its Windows products because there are more Windows users and
Windows applications with proven sandboxing implementations.
• Any supported browser. PDFs opened in a browser run inside the Reader sandboxed process
without any dependency on the browser or the browser's trust zones.
Application Security Guide Section 3€€€Protected Mode
Section 3€€€Protected Mode Page 9

3.2 Changes across releases
Evolution of Protected Mode
Version Change
10.0 Protected Mode introduced in Reader.
10.x-11.0 Many changes and improvement were made for dot releases as described at
http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/protected-mode-troubleshooting-reader.html
11.0 See Read policy changes for 11.0
3.3 Configuration
While different users will have different security needs, casual users who interact with PDFs in unsecure
environments should enable Protected Mode all the time.
There are a limited number of cases where you might want to disable Protected Mode:
• When you want to use an unsupported feature such as Accessibility on XP.
• In enterprise settings where PDF workflows are entirely confined to trusted environments under an
administrator's control.
• If you have third-party or custom plugins that cause issues when running in Protected Mode. For
example, some workflows that use ActiveX plugins may not work by default.
3.3.1 UI and registry config
1. Go to Edit > Preferences > General.
2. In the Application Startup panel, check or uncheck Enable Protected Mode at startup.
3. When the dialog appears asking if you would like to continue, choose Yes. This preference sets:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\10.0\Privileged]
"bProtectedMode"=(0 = off; 1 = on)
1. Choose whether or not you would like to have a log file created.
2. Restart the application.
Protected Mode preference
Section 3€€€Protected Mode Application Security Guide
Page 10 Section 3€€€Protected Mode

Note
The application uses an internal key. The actual key does not exist by default and so does not appear
until the key is manually created.
3.3.2 Trust overrides
None. PM is designed to protect users transparently and without impacting other features.
3.3.3 PM and shell extensions
While Protected Mode can be disabled for PDFs viewed with the product, Adobe continues to protect you
when 3rd party software invokes a Reader process; that is, Protected Mode sandboxing cannot be
disabled for shell extensions. For example, when you use Windows Explorer to preview a PDF in the
Preview Pane, it starts a Reader process to display the preview. In such cases, Task Manager shows that
two AcroRd32.exe processes spawn and that the operation is occurring with Protected Mode enabled.
3.3.4 Logging registry config
Logging is available for users who need to troubleshoot problems where a workflow or plugin does not
work when Protected Mode is enabled. The log may provide guidance as to whether a custom policy file
should be used to re-enable broken workflows or plugins.
In addition to enabling logging via the UI (above), you can turn on logging and configure a log file location
via the registry.
To enable logging, specify a log file location:
1. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\10.0\Privileged.
2. Right click and choose New > REG_SZ Value.
3. Create tBrokerLogfilePath.
4. Right click on tBrokerLogfilePath and choose Modify.
5. Set the value. For example: C:\DOCUME~1\<username>\LOCALS~1\Temp\BrL4FBA.tmp.
Policy logging for a policy violation:
[08:12/13:46:16] real_path: \BaseNamedObjects\ZonesCacheCounterMutex
[08:12/13:46:16] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: MUTANT_ALLOW_ANY
[08:12/13:46:16] NtCreateMutant: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED
[08:12/13:46:16] real_path: \BaseNamedObjects\ZonesLockedCacheCounterMutex
[08:12/13:46:16] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: MUTANT_ALLOW_ANY
[08:12/13:46:16] NtCreateKey: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED
[08:12/13:46:16] real path: \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-762979615-2031575299-929701000-51250\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
[08:12/13:46:16] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: REG_ALLOW_ANY
[08:12/13:46:16] NtCreateKey: STATUS_ACCESS_DENIED
[08:12/13:46:16] real path: \REGISTRY\USER\S-1-5-21-762979615-2031575299-929701000-51250\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
[08:12/13:46:16] Consider modifying policy using this policy rule: REG_ALLOW_ANY
3.3.5 Locking Protected Mode
Protected Mode can be locked as enabled or disabled as follows:
1. Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\<product name>\<version>\FeatureLockDown.
2. Right click and choose New > DWORD Value.
3. Create bProtectedMode.
4. Right click on the key and choose Modify.
5. Set the value as follows:
Application Security Guide Section 3€€€Protected Mode
Section 3€€€Protected Mode Page 11

•0: Disables the feature.
•1: Enables the feature.
3.3.6 Verifying the current mode
There are two ways to verify if the application is running in Protected Mode:
• Open the process explorer or task manager. When protected mode is on, two reader processes run.
• When a file is open, choose File > Properties > Advanced tab and view the Protected Mode
status. When Protected Mode is enabled, the status will be Protected mode: On.
3.3.7 Policy configuration
Protected mode prevents a number of actions which IT can bypass by creating a white list of allowed
actions. The component that reads these policies is called a "broker." The broker performs actions based
on those policies, and when an admin provides a properly configured policy file, the broker can bypass the
application's default restrictions.
The broker first reads and applies all custom policies prior to applying the default policies. Since custom
policies take precedence, they are useful for fixing broken workflows, supporting third party plug-ins, and
cases where unsupported machine configurations cause the Protected Mode to impair required
functionality.
Configurable policies have two requirements:
• They must reside in the Reader install directory adjacent to AcroRd32.exe in the install folder. for
example: D:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 10.0\Reader\
• The name of the policy file must be ProtectedModeWhitelistConfig.txt.
3.3.7.1 Enabling custom policies
To allow the application to read and use a policy file, registry configuration is required. To enable policy
files:
1. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesAdobeAcrobat Reader10.0FeatureLockDown.
2. Right click and choose New > DWORD Value.
3. Create bUseWhitelistConfigFile.
4. Right click on bUseWhitelistConfigFile and choose Modify.
5. Set the value to 1 to enable the white list.
3.3.7.2 Creating policies
Once you've enabled policies as described in `inserttitleEnabling custom policies`_, you can write and
deploy a policy file. A policy file is a set of policy-rules. There can be one per line, empty lines, or full-line
comments that begin with a semi-colon. Each policy rule (one on each line) has the format:
POLICY_RULE_TYPE =pattern string
Pattern strings denote file names, registry locations, exe paths, etc. These strings support the following:
•*: Matches zero or more characters. Only one in series allowed. For example:
• FILES_ALLOW_ANY = c:temp
• REG_ALLOW_ANY = HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftware(SomeProgram)
• SECTION_ALLOW_ANY = imejp
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•?: Matches a single character. One or more in series are allowed.
•Environment variables: For example, %SystemRoot% could be used in:
PROCESS_ALL_EXEC =%SystemRoot%\system32\calc.exe
Adobe-provided policy rules include those shown below.
Protected mode policy rules
Policy rule Description
FILES_ALLOW_ANY Allows open or create for any kind of access that the file system supports.
FILES_ALLOW_DIR_ANY Allows open or create with directory semantics only.
REG_ALLOW_ANY Allows read and write access to a registry key.
PROCESS_ALL_EXEC Allows the creation of a process and return fill access on the returned handles.
NAMEDPIPES_ALLOW_ANY Allows creation of a named pipe.
EVENTS_ALLOW_ANY Allows the creation of an event with full access.
MUTANT_ALLOW_ANY Allows creation of a mutant with full access (MUTANT_ALL_ACCESS)
SECTION_ALLOW_ANY Allows creation/opening of a section with full access
FILES_ALLOW_READONLY
(11.0 and later)
Allows read access to a specific path.
Policy configuration file
; Files Section
FILES_ALLOW_ANY =c:\temp\*
FILES_ALLOW_ANY=%APPDATA%\Citrix\*
; Processes
PROCESS_ALL_EXEC =%SystemRoot%\system32\calc.exe
; Registry
REG_ALLOW_ANY =HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\(SomeProgram)
; Mutants
MUTANT_ALLOW_ANY =*imejp*
; Sections
SECTION_ALLOW_ANY =*imejp*
3.4 Read policy changes for 11.0
While Protected Mode in Reader 10.x prevented arbitrary writes to file locations in the user's profile area
such as My Documents, Pictures, Downloads folder, %AppData%, etc., it did not prevent the reading of
files. In 11.0, Reader's Protected Mode does prevent the sandbox from reading arbitrary files in these
locations. This enhancement makes it harder for malicious PDFs to steal user's confidential information.
3.4.1 Read policy overview
In Reader 11 Protected Mode, the sandboxed AcroRd32.exe process only has read access to those files
and folders under the %USERPROFILE% for the following:
1. The correct functioning of Adobe Reader itself; for example %appdata%\Adobe\Acrobat\11.0\*.
2. PDFs explicitly opened by the user via the File Open dialog or double-clicking.
While %USERPROFILE% is protected, the actual implementation is not based on folder names but rather
on the ACL (access control entry) of the folders. Any folder or file that grants Everyone or
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Section 3€€€Protected Mode Page 13

BUILTIN\Users groups read access is not protected with read-restrictions. Other folders such as the
per-user profile folder that don't grant such an access are protected. Note that many user-account
protected network shares don't grant access to everyone. So, again, those would be protected.
3.4.2 User experience
There is no UI to turn read-restrictions on or off: this feature is an enhancement to the existing Protected
Mode feature and is always enabled as part of it.
Read-warning dialogs
Like Protected Mode generally, the new behavior should be transparent to users except for new
confirmation dialogs that may now appear under certain scenarios. A few confirmation dialogs are
necessary for workflows that required Reader in Protected Mode to read arbitrary files. These files include
files that were neither explicitly opened by the user nor required by Reader to store its preferences and so
weren't white-listed for access. In such cases, the broker is forced to check with the user before granting
the Protected Mode sandbox read access to those files. As the feature evolves in the course of A11
development, it is expected that users will rarely encounter situations where they will see these dialogs.
A confirmation dialog is shown for the following cases:
• When the user clicks a link in a PDF that points to another PDF on the user's disk ("interdoc PDF
link"). Note that this is not applicable for internet links (where a different dialog is already shown),
but only to links to PDFs on the local disk.
• When the PDF has a multimedia annotation references a media file kept at a read-restricted location
on the user's disk or a network share.
• When a PDF tries to access data from an FDF file kept at a read-restricted location on the user's
disk or a network share.
• When an FDF or XFDF is opened and it tries to reference a PDF file kept at a read-restricted
location on the user's disk or a network share.
• When the user tries to open a review from the review tracker.
Note that these are restricted to access to the user's disk or network share, not an HTTP(S) URL. So
these dialogs almost never appear in the browser. For example, in a browser situation, an FDF or PDF in
cases 3 or 4 above will be on a HTTP(S) server, and so will not be impacted. Also, most "interdoc PDF
links" in the web will be to PDF on the web, not the user's machine or network share.
Search-warning dialogs
Finally, it is impossible to securely support the index search and Reader's desktop search features via
Edit > Advanced Search > Show more options with read-restrictions enabled. So if the user tries to
use any of the following features, a warning is thrown: "The operation you are trying to perform potentially
requires read access to your drives. Do you want to allow this operation?".
If the user allows the operation, read-restrictions are temporarily disabled while that Reader process is
running. In this case, Protected Mode is ON, but it will temporarily grant the sandbox read access to all of
the user's files. Once the user restarts the Reader process, Protected Mode read-restrictions will again be
in place. The idea is that rather than having the user turn Protected Mode completely off to use these
index-search or desktop-search features, it is better to turn off just read-restrictions temporarily.
The dialog appears in the following scenarios:
1. When the user tries to open an index (PDX) file.
2. When the user tries to search inside an already selected or shelved index, inside a folder, or in an
index linked to a PDF.
3.4.3 Policy rules
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Page 14 Section 3€€€Protected Mode

The new read policy includes the new FILES_ALLOW_READONLY rule that works just like the
FILES_ALLOW_ANY rule, but grants read-only access to a specific path. Admins can use the
FILES_ALLOW_READONLY rule of the config policy to grant read-only access to certain areas of the
user's disk.
3.5 Unsupported configurations
For complete details, see http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/protected-mode-troubleshooting-reader.html.
Limitations with Protected Mode enabled include the following:
• 3rd party plugins may require modification.
• XP only: Accessibility features may or may not work. For example, some assistive technologies may
not be able read document content while in Protected Mode.
• Citrix and WTS environments are supported with 10.1 and later.
• Protected Mode and Protected View are not supported until 10.1 and later.
Note
When a screen reader like JAWS or Window-Eyes is already running when Reader is started for the
first time on XP systems, a warning is shown instructing the user to turn Protected Mode off manually.
On Vista and Windows 7, screen readers do work normally.
When Protected Mode cannot launch due to an unsupported configuration, Reader displays a dialog
alerting the user of the incompatibility and provides the user with the option to disable Protected Mode.
Note
"Adobe Reader cannot open in Protected Mode due to a problem with your system configuration.
Would you like to open Adobe Reader with Protected Mode disabled?"
Unsupported configurations for Reader running in Protected Mode change across releases as the product
evolves. For example, Protected Mode supports Citrix and Windows Terminal Services deployments with
10.1.
Protected Mode: Unsupported configuration dialog
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Section 3€€€Protected Mode Page 15

3.6 FAQs
Does Adobe have plans for Protected Mode in Acrobat?
Yes. With the release of 10.1, Acrobat's Protected View is a sandbox mode similar to the Protected View
feature in Microsoft Office 2010.
Is there a reason why Acrobat X is not sandboxed vs. Reader X?
In order to reduce our attack surface, and most effectively thwart malicious activity, we always follow the
common security strategy of protecting the greatest number of end-users as expediently as possible.
Is Reader X on Mac OSX less vulnerable?
While Protected Mode is not available for Macintosh, Adobe has not seen any targeted attacks against
Unix and Mac Reader so far.
Is Adobe Reader X sandboxed on Unix and Mac?
While sandboxing technologies do exist on the Unix and Mac platforms, we have not seen targeted
attacks against Unix and Mac Reader so far and therefore it's not a priority at this point in time.
What configuration are not supported?
For a current list of issues, see
http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/protected-mode-troubleshooting-reader.html.
Does the fact that Protected Mode invoke two Reader processes affect updating and patching?
No. The patching mechanism will remain the same as before. Broker and sandboxed processes do not
get patched separately.
Is the Reader Sandbox similar to the low integrity Protected Mode of Internet Explorer?
No. Despite the name similarities, Reader's Protected Mode the sandbox we have implemented is a more
effective at mitigating threats in applications on desktop windows than just running a process at low
integrity. While our sandbox indeed runs at at low integrity, it is a much more constrained computing
environment.
Is Remote Desktop Services supported?
Yes. Remote Desktop Services (formerly known as Terminal Services) is supported.
What is the difference between Microsoft's Application Virtualization Sandbox technology and
Reader X's Protected Mode?
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Page 16 Section 3€€€Protected Mode