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Digital EditionsApplication · Adobe

CVE-2016-4261

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-09-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.5.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 Digital Editions before 4.5.2 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-4256, CVE-2016-4257, CVE-2016-4258, CVE-2016-4259, CVE-2016-4260, and CVE-2016-4262.

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 · moderate confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Digital Editions versions prior to 4.5.2 allows remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution or cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors. The vulnerability stems from improper memory handling that can be triggered through malicious e-book content or crafted PDF files processed by the application.

MitigationUpgrade Adobe Digital Editions to version 4.5.2 or later. In enterprise environments, deploy the update organization-wide and verify all instances are patched.

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
Digital EditionsApplication
Affected:<= 4.5.1

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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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. Verify Adobe Digital Editions is installed
    Check for the presence of Adobe Digital Editions on the system. Common installation paths: Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Digital Editions or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Digital Editions. Mac: /Applications/Adobe Digital Editions.app
    Affected if Adobe Digital Editions software is present on the system
  2. Locate the version information file
    On Windows, check the version by right-clicking the executable (DigitalEditions.exe), selecting Properties, and viewing the Details tab. Alternatively, check the file version in the installation directory.
    Affected if The executable file exists and version details are accessible
  3. Retrieve the installed version number
    Open the Adobe Digital Editions application and navigate to Help > About Adobe Digital Editions, or check the version displayed in the application UI. The version number will appear in the format X.Y.Z (e.g., 4.5.1, 4.5.0)
    Affected if A version number is displayed in the application or file properties
  4. Compare version against affected range
    Compare the installed version to the affected range: versions 4.5.1 and earlier are vulnerable. Version 4.5.2 is the patched release.
    Affected if The installed version is 4.5.1 or any earlier version (e.g., 4.5.0, 4.4.x, 4.3.x, etc.)

The system is affected if Adobe Digital Editions is installed and the installed version is 4.5.1 or any version prior to 4.5.2.

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 4.5.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Adobe Digital Editions to version 4.5.2 or later. In enterprise environments, deploy the update organization-wide and verify all instances are patched.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Digital Editions 4.5.2 or later

  1. Close Adobe Digital Editions if currently running
  2. Navigate to the official Adobe Digital Editions download page (helpx.adobe.com)
  3. Download Adobe Digital Editions version 4.5.2 or later
  4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
  5. Restart Adobe Digital Editions after the update completes
Caveat Minimal risk - this is a security patch release; ensure any ebook DRM authorization is re-established if prompted

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

Fix this in Digital Editions Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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-2016-4261 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