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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2015-4435

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-07-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.006.30060 / 15.008.20082 or later.
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 10.1.15 and 11.x before 11.0.12, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 2015.006.30060, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 2015.008.20082 on Windows and OS X allow attackers to bypass JavaScript API execution restrictions via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-4438, CVE-2015-4441, CVE-2015-4445, CVE-2015-4447, CVE-2015-4451, CVE-2015-4452, CVE-2015-5085, and CVE-2015-5086.

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

Adobe Reader and Acrobat contain a vulnerability that allows attackers to bypass JavaScript API execution restrictions on Windows and OS X. This security bypass could enable arbitrary code execution or other malicious activities by circumventing sandbox or restriction mechanisms designed to control JavaScript functionality.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 10.1.15 or later for 10.x, 11.0.12 or later for 11.x, 2015.006.30060 or later for DC Classic, and 2015.008.20082 or later for DC Continuous.

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:>= 10.0, <= 10.1.14>= 11.0.0, <= 11.0.11
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 10.0, <= 10.1.14>= 11.0.0, <= 11.0.11
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30033, < 15.006.30060>= 15.007.20033, < 15.008.20082
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30033, < 15.006.30060>= 15.007.20033, < 15.008.20082

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. Identify Adobe product installation
    Check for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader installation. On Windows, examine the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe or look in Program Files for Adobe folders. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
    Affected if No Adobe product is found (not affected). If found, continue to version check.
  2. Determine installed product version
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then go to Help > About (or About Adobe Acrobat/Reader) to display the exact version number. Alternatively on Windows, check the version value in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\ProductName\Install or examine the executable properties of AcroRd32.exe or AcroDist.exe in the installation folder.
    Affected if The displayed version number must be compared against the affected ranges.
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Match your installed version to these vulnerable ranges: Acrobat/Reader 10.x up to 10.1.14; 11.x up to 11.0.11; DC Classic 15.006.30033 to 15.006.30059; DC Continuous 15.007.20033 to 15.008.20081. Any version within these ranges is affected.
    Affected if Your installed version falls within any of these ranges: 10.0 through 10.1.14, 11.0.0 through 11.0.11, 15.006.30033 through 15.006.30059, or 15.007.20033 through 15.008.20081.
  4. Verify JavaScript execution settings
    In Adobe Acrobat or Reader, go to Edit > Preferences > Security (or Privacy) and examine the JavaScript settings. Look for options related to enabling JavaScript for Adobe JavaScript API, or check if scripts are allowed to execute.
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled in the application settings (the vulnerability allows bypassing restrictions on JavaScript API execution when JavaScript is enabled).

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version number within the vulnerable ranges (10.0-10.1.14, 11.0.0-11.0.11, 15.006.30033-15.006.30059, or 15.007.20033-15.008.20081) and JavaScript execution is enabled.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 15.006.30060 / 15.008.20082 or later
Fixed in 15.006.3006015.008.20082
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 10.1.15 or later for 10.x, 11.0.12 or later for 11.x, 2015.006.30060 or later for DC Classic, and 2015.008.20082 or later for DC Continuous.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat/Reader 10.x to 10.1.15; 11.x to 11.0.12; DC Classic to 2015.006.30060 or 2015.008.20082; DC Continuous to 2015.008.20082

  1. Identify the current installed version of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader
  2. Navigate to the Adobe Security Bulletin APSB15-15 at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/reader/apsb15-15.html
  3. Download the appropriate security update for your product and version:
  4. - For Acrobat/Reader 10.x: Upgrade to version 10.1.15
  5. - For Acrobat/Reader 11.x: Upgrade to version 11.0.12
  6. - For Acrobat/Reader DC Classic (15.006.30033-15.006.30059): Upgrade to version 15.006.30060
  7. - For Acrobat/Reader DC Classic (15.007.20033+): Upgrade to version 15.008.20082
  8. - For Acrobat/Reader DC Continuous (15.007.20033-15.008.20081): Upgrade to version 15.008.20082
Caveat Adobe updates may include changes to PDF rendering behavior or feature removal; test critical PDF workflows after upgrade

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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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2015-4435 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