New updates have been released by Adobe to patch Reader PDF and Flash animation applications. The patches fix the flaws widely used by hackers to penetrate and take control of end user machines.

In the latest patch Adobe fixes a serious bug in Flash that allows attackers to remotely execute malicious code on machines that run the software, and there are reports it's being actively exploited, Adobe said.

The targeted vulnerability resides in Flash versions for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Solaris and the Android mobile operating system. Tuesday's fix is available for all platforms except for Android.

Meantime, an update for Reader PDF addresses at least 13 bugs. 11 of them were rated by Adobe as “critical.” The flaws involved memory corruption, buffer and heap overflows, DLL load hijacking and other bugs.