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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-3072

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-05-13
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Adobe Reader and Acrobat 10.x before 10.1.14 and 11.x before 11.0.11 on Windows and OS X allow attackers to bypass intended restrictions on JavaScript API execution via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-3060, CVE-2015-3061, CVE-2015-3062, CVE-2015-3063, CVE-2015-3064, CVE-2015-3065, CVE-2015-3066, CVE-2015-3067, CVE-2015-3068, CVE-2015-3069, CVE-2015-3071, CVE-2015-3073, and CVE-2015-3074.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This is a security bypass vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat that allows attackers to circumvent intended restrictions on JavaScript API execution. The flaw affects versions 10.x before 10.1.14 and 11.x before 11.0.11 on Windows and OS X, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution or other malicious activities through specially crafted PDF documents.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 10.1.14 or later (10.x) and 11.0.11 or later (11.x) to remediate this vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AcrobatApplication
Affected:= 10.1.0= 10.1.1= 10.1.2= 10.1.3= 10.1.4= 10.1.5= 10.1.6= 10.1.7= 10.1.8= 10.1.9= 10.1.10= 10.1.11
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:all versions
WindowsOperating system
Affected:all versions
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:= 10.1.0= 10.1.1= 10.1.2= 10.1.3= 10.1.4= 10.1.5= 10.1.6= 10.1.7= 10.1.8= 10.1.9= 10.1.10= 10.1.11

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Adobe product installation
    Open Adobe Reader or Acrobat, then go to Help > About Adobe Reader/Acrobat to view the exact version number
    Affected if Any version of Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
  2. Identify installed version
    Note the full version number displayed in the About dialog (for example, 10.1.10 or 11.0.10)
    Affected if Version is 10.1.0 through 10.1.11, or any 11.x version before 11.0.11
  3. Verify JavaScript is enabled
    In Adobe Reader/Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript and check if Enable Adobe JavaScript is checked
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled - this is the feature whose security restrictions can be bypassed
  4. Check for recent documents
    Inspect any recently opened PDF files from untrusted sources for suspicious JavaScript code or embedded scripts
    Affected if Suspicious PDFs with JavaScript have been opened

User is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader version 10.1.0-10.1.11 or 11.x before 11.0.11 is installed AND JavaScript is enabled, as this configuration allows the security bypass to apply

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 10.1.14 or later (10.x) and 11.0.11 or later (11.x) to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 10.x to 10.1.14+ or 11.x to 11.0.11+ (or latest available version)

  1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader version (10.x or 11.x)
  2. For Adobe Acrobat/Reader 10.x users: Download and install version 10.1.14 or later from the Adobe website
  3. For Adobe Acrobat/Reader 11.x users: Download and install version 11.0.11 or later from the Adobe website
  4. Alternatively, download and install the latest available version of Adobe Acrobat/Reader which includes all security patches
  5. Verify the installation was successful by checking the updated version number in Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat
Caveat Standard security patch upgrade with minimal risk; major version changes may introduce minor interface or plugin compatibility differences

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the patch applied

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-3072 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data