CVE-2017-11240
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 · uneditedAdobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2017.012.20098 and earlier, 2017.011.30066 and earlier, 2015.006.30355 and earlier, 11.0.22 and earlier have an exploitable out-of-bounds read vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.
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 confidenceAdobe Acrobat and Reader contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability where the software reads memory beyond allocated buffer boundaries. This memory corruption can be leveraged by attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the currently logged-on user.
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>= 11.0.0, <= 11.0.22>= 15.006.30355, < 15.006.30392>= 17.012.20098, < 18.009.20044>= 11.0.0, <= 11.0.22>= 15.006.30355, < 15.006.30392>= 17.012.20098, < 18.009.20044CVSS 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:3.1/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Adobe Acrobat or Reader installationCheck for installed Adobe Acrobat/Reader on the system. On Windows, look in Program Files for folders named 'Adobe\Acrobat' or 'Adobe\Acrobat Reader', or query the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\Acrobat.exeAffected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
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Identify the installed product typeDetermine whether the installed product is Adobe Acrobat (Standard/Pro) or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. Check the folder name or registry entry to distinguish between the full Acrobat product versus the free Reader versionAffected if The installed product is Adobe Acrobat or Reader (any variant)
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Retrieve the exact installed version numberRight-click on AcroRd32.exe (Reader) or Acrobat.exe (Acrobat) in the installation directory, select Properties, and view the Details tab for the Product Version. Alternatively, run 'wmic datafile where "name='C:\\Program Files\\Adobe\\Acrobat DC\\Acrobat\\Acrobat.exe'" get Version' adjusting the path as needed for your installationAffected if Version cannot be determined
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Compare version against affected 11.x rangeFor Classic Acrobat/Reader (non-DC): Check if the version is 11.0.0 through 11.0.22 inclusive. This applies to both Acrobat 11.x and Reader 11.xAffected if Version is 11.0.0 or higher up to and including 11.0.22
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Compare version against affected DC 15.x rangeFor Acrobat/Reader DC with 15.x versions: Check if the version falls between 15.006.30355 and 15.006.30391 inclusive (versions 15.006.30355 up to but not including 15.006.30392)Affected if Version starts with 15.006.30355 or higher, up to 15.006.30391
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Compare version against affected DC 17.x rangeFor Acrobat/Reader DC with 17.x versions: Check if the version falls between 17.012.20098 and 18.009.20043 inclusive (versions 17.012.20098 up to but not including 18.009.20044)Affected if Version starts with 17.012.20098 or higher, up to 18.009.20043
The environment is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed AND its version matches any of the following: 11.0.0 through 11.0.22, 15.006.30355 through 15.006.30391, or 17.012.20098 through 18.009.20043
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped15.006.3039218.009.20044
Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to versions later than 2017.012.20098, 2017.011.30066, 2015.006.30355, and 11.0.22 to remediate this vulnerability.
Acrobat/Reader 11.0.23 or later; Acrobat/Reader DC 15.006.30392 or later (Classic Track); Acrobat/Reader DC 18.009.20044 or later (Continuous/2018.x Track)
- 1. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
- 2. Navigate to the Adobe Acrobat and Reader security bulletin at helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb17-24.html or search for Adobe Security Bulletin APSB17-24.
- 3. Identify your current version by opening Adobe Acrobat/Reader and selecting Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader.
- 4. Download the appropriate fixed version for your product line: For Acrobat/Reader 11.x, upgrade to version 11.0.23 or later; For Acrobat/Reader DC (Classic Track, version 15.x), upgrade to version 15.006.30392 or later; For Acrobat/Reader DC (Continuous Track, version 17.x and 2017.x), upgrade to version 18.009.20044 or later (2018.x release).
- 5. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade.
- 6. After installation, verify the new version by checking Help > About to confirm the version number matches the fixed release.
- 7. Restart any running applications and ensure the update is applied.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-11240 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-11240 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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