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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2016-1041

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-05-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.010.20060 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 before 11.0.16, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 15.006.30172, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 15.016.20039 on Windows and OS X allow attackers to bypass JavaScript API execution restrictions via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-1038, CVE-2016-1039, CVE-2016-1040, CVE-2016-1042, CVE-2016-1044, CVE-2016-1062, and CVE-2016-1117.

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 JavaScript API restriction bypass vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat. The vulnerability allows attackers to circumvent the built-in JavaScript API execution restrictions that are meant to limit what actions embedded JavaScript can perform within PDF documents, potentially enabling malicious script execution.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 11.0.16 or later (Classic) / 15.006.30172 or later (DC Classic) / 15.016.20039 or later (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:<= 11.0.15
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:<= 15.006.30121<= 15.010.20060
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:<= 15.006.30121<= 15.010.20060
ReaderApplication
Affected:<= 11.0.15

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 and version
    Open Adobe Reader or Acrobat, go to Help > About Adobe Reader/Acrobat to display the exact version number. Alternatively, check Programs and Features in Windows Control Panel or the Applications folder on Mac.
    Affected if The displayed version is 11.0.15 or earlier for Reader/Acrobat Classic, or 15.006.30121/15.010.20060 or earlier for DC versions.
  2. Confirm product type
    Determine whether the installation is Adobe Reader, Adobe Acrobat Standard, or Adobe Acrobat Pro. This matters because the affected version ranges differ slightly between Reader and Acrobat.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Reader <= 11.0.15, Adobe Acrobat <= 11.0.15, Adobe Acrobat DC <= 15.006.30121, Adobe Acrobat DC <= 15.010.20060, or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC <= 15.006.30121/15.010.20060.
  3. Verify JavaScript execution is enabled
    In Adobe Reader or Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript and confirm the 'Enable Adobe JavaScript' option is checked. This is the setting that allows embedded PDF JavaScript to execute.
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled in the application preferences, as this is the required condition for the vulnerability to be exploitable.
  4. Check for recent PDF files with JavaScript
    Inspect recently opened PDF files using a hex editor or PDF analysis tool to search for '/JS' or '/JavaScript' dictionary entries within the PDF structure. This indicates the PDF contains embedded JavaScript.
    Affected if PDF files with embedded JavaScript have been opened, as the vulnerability allows malicious scripts in such PDFs to bypass API restrictions.

You are affected if your installed Adobe Reader or Acrobat version falls within the affected ranges (11.0.15 or earlier for Classic, 15.006.30121/15.010.20060 or earlier for DC) AND JavaScript is 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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 15.010.20060
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 11.0.16 or later (Classic) / 15.006.30172 or later (DC Classic) / 15.016.20039 or later (DC Continuous).

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat/Reader 11.0.16; Acrobat DC Classic 15.006.30172; Acrobat DC Continuous 15.016.20039

  1. Identify the exact product and version of Adobe Acrobat or Reader installed (11.x, DC Classic, or DC Continuous)
  2. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Adobe security bulletin (apsb16-14) or the Adobe website
  3. For Acrobat/Reader 11.x: Upgrade to version 11.0.16 or later
  4. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader DC Classic: Upgrade to version 15.006.30172 or later
  5. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader DC Continuous: Upgrade to version 15.016.20039 or later
  6. Restart the application after installation
  7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed version numbers
Caveat Standard minor version upgrades typically have no breaking changes; verify with Adobe release notes if concerned about specific functionality

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

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
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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-2016-1041 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