dbcve.org
AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2016-6937

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-09-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.016.20045 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 Reader and Acrobat before 11.0.17, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Classic before 15.006.30198, and Acrobat and Acrobat Reader DC Continuous before 15.017.20050 on Windows and OS X allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via unspecified vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-4191, CVE-2016-4192, CVE-2016-4193, CVE-2016-4194, CVE-2016-4195, CVE-2016-4196, CVE-2016-4197, CVE-2016-4198, CVE-2016-4199, CVE-2016-4200, CVE-2016-4201, CVE-2016-4202, CVE-2016-4203, CVE-2016-4204, CVE-2016-4205, CVE-2016-4206, CVE-2016-4207, CVE-2016-4208, CVE-2016-4211, CVE-2016-4212, CVE-2016-4213, CVE-2016-4214, CVE-2016-4250, CVE-2016-4251, CVE-2016-4252, CVE-2016-4254, CVE-2016-4265, CVE-2016-4266, CVE-2016-4267, CVE-2016-4268, CVE-2016-4269, and CVE-2016-4270.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Reader and Acrobat allowing arbitrary code execution or denial of service. The vulnerability affects multiple product versions on Windows and OS X, with exploitation possible via unspecified vectors leading to memory corruption that can be leveraged for code execution.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 11.0.17 or later for classic versions, 15.006.30198 or later for DC Classic, and 15.017.20050 or later for DC Continuous. Prioritize patching given critical CVSS 9.8 rating.

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:<= 11.0.16
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:<= 15.006.30174<= 15.016.20045
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:<= 15.006.30174<= 15.016.20045
ReaderApplication
Affected:<= 11.0.16

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. Identify installed Adobe product
    Open Adobe Reader or Acrobat, go to Help > About Adobe [Product], or right-click the application executable and select Properties to view the version information
    Affected if The product is Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat (any variant)
  2. Determine the product variant
    Check if the installed product is classic Adobe Reader/Acrobat (version 11.x) or Adobe Reader DC/Acrobat DC (version 15.x)
    Affected if The product is any Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat version
  3. Check version for classic products
    If using Adobe Reader or Acrobat 11.x, note the exact version (for example, 11.0.16). Compare against the affected range: versions 11.0.16 and below are vulnerable
    Affected if Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat classic version is 11.0.16 or lower
  4. Check version for DC Classic
    If using Adobe Reader DC or Acrobat DC, verify the version is 15.006.30174 or lower. The version typically appears as 15.xxxxx.xxxxx in the About dialog
    Affected if Adobe Reader DC or Acrobat DC version is 15.006.30174 or lower (Classic track)
  5. Check version for DC Continuous
    If using Adobe Reader DC or Acrobat DC Continuous, verify the version is 15.016.20045 or lower. This is a separate track from DC Classic with different version numbering
    Affected if Adobe Reader DC or Acrobat DC version is 15.016.20045 or lower (Continuous track)

You are affected if Adobe Reader or Acrobat is installed and the version falls within any of the affected ranges: classic 11.0.16 or lower, DC Classic 15.006.30174 or lower, or DC Continuous 15.016.20045 or lower.

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 15.016.20045
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Reader and Acrobat to version 11.0.17 or later for classic versions, 15.006.30198 or later for DC Classic, and 15.017.20050 or later for DC Continuous. Prioritize patching given critical CVSS 9.8 rating.

Recommended fix High confidence

11.0.17 (legacy); 15.006.30198 (DC Classic); 15.017.20050 (DC Continuous)

  1. Identify the Adobe product and version in use (Acrobat, Acrobat Reader DC Classic, or Acrobat Reader DC Continuous)
  2. Open Adobe Reader or Acrobat and navigate to Help > About Adobe Reader/Acrobat to confirm the current version number
  3. For legacy products (Acrobat 11.x or Reader 11.x): Upgrade to version 11.0.17 or later
  4. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader DC Classic: Upgrade to version 15.006.30198 or later
  5. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader DC Continuous: Upgrade to version 15.017.20050 or later
  6. Download the appropriate updated version from the official Adobe website (helpx.adobe.com)
  7. Close all Adobe applications and install the security update
  8. Restart the application and verify the version has been updated successfully

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 upgrade done

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

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-6937 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2016-6937 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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