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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-3073

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
Public exploit 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-2015-3072, 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 versions 10.x before 10.1.14 and 11.x before 11.0.11 on Windows and OS X. The vulnerability allows attackers to bypass intended security restrictions on JavaScript API execution within PDF documents, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution or other malicious activities.

MitigationApply the vendor patches by updating Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 10.1.14, 11.0.11, or later. Until patches are applied, exercise extreme caution with PDF files from untrusted sources and consider disabling JavaScript execution in Adobe products via registry settings or group policy.

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 Reader or Acrobat is installed
    On Windows, check Start menu for Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat entries. On Mac OS X, check /Applications folder for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader applications.
    Affected if Either Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed Adobe product version
    Open the Adobe application, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader or About Adobe Acrobat. The version number will display in the dialog window.
    Affected if The version shown is 10.1.0 through 10.1.11, or any 11.x version before 11.0.11
  3. Alternative: Check version via Windows registry
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\ or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat Reader\, then check the Version value in the installed version folder (e.g., 10.1 or 11.0).
    Affected if The registry version value shows 10.1.x where x is 0-11, or 11.0.x where x is 0-10
  4. Verify JavaScript is enabled in the application
    In Adobe Reader or Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript and confirm if Enable Adobe JavaScript is checked.
    Affected if JavaScript execution is enabled (this is the default setting); the vulnerability allows bypass of restrictions when JavaScript is enabled

You are affected if Adobe Reader or Acrobat version 10.1.0-10.1.11 or 11.x before 11.0.11 is installed on Windows or Mac OS X, especially with JavaScript enabled in the application settings.

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

Apply the vendor patches by updating Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 10.1.14, 11.0.11, or later. Until patches are applied, exercise extreme caution with PDF files from untrusted sources and consider disabling JavaScript execution in Adobe products via registry settings or group policy.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 10.1.14 or 11.0.11 (depending on your major version)

  1. Navigate to the Adobe security bulletin at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/reader/apsb15-10.html
  2. Download the appropriate update for your installed product: Adobe Acrobat 10.x should be updated to version 10.1.14, Adobe Acrobat 11.x should be updated to version 11.0.11
  3. If using Adobe Reader 10.x, download and install version 10.1.14; if using Adobe Reader 11.x, download and install version 11.0.11
  4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the update
  5. Verify the installed version matches the target fixed version via Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader

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

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2015-3073 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