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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-11253

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2018-05-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.006.30392 / 18.009.20044 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 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 confidence

Adobe Acrobat and Reader contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in versions 2017.012.20098 and earlier, 2017.011.30066 and earlier, 2015.006.30355 and earlier, and 11.0.22 and earlier. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions provided by Adobe security bulletins.

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:>= 11.0.0, <= 11.0.22
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30355, < 15.006.30392>= 17.012.20098, < 18.009.20044
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 11.0.0, <= 11.0.22
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30355, < 15.006.30392>= 17.012.20098, < 18.009.20044

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:3.1/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    On Windows, open Programs and Features or check C:\Program Files\Adobe\ for Acrobat or Reader folders. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
    Affected if No Adobe Acrobat or Reader installation found means not affected.
  2. Identify the installed Adobe product name
    Look for folders named 'Acrobat' or 'Acrobat Reader' in the Adobe program directory. The product determines which version range applies.
    Affected if If neither Acrobat nor Reader is installed, the system is not affected.
  3. Determine the exact installed version
    Open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader, or on Windows right-click the executable in Program Files > Properties > Details tab. On macOS, right-click the app in Applications > Get Info.
    Affected if The version displayed must be compared against the affected ranges to determine exposure.
  4. Compare version against Adobe Acrobat 11.x affected range
    If using Acrobat 11.x or Reader 11.x, check if version is 11.0.22 or earlier. Versions 11.0.0 through 11.0.22 are affected.
    Affected if Installed version 11.0.22 or earlier means the system is vulnerable.
  5. Compare version against Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC Classic affected range
    If using DC with version starting with 15.006, check if it is 15.006.30355 or higher but below 15.006.30392. Versions 15.006.30355 through 15.006.30391 are affected.
    Affected if Installed version 15.006.30355 through 15.006.30391 means the system is vulnerable.
  6. Compare version against Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC Continuous affected range
    If using DC with version starting with 17.012, check if it is 17.012.20098 or higher but below 18.009.20044. Versions 17.012.20098 through 18.009.20043 are affected.
    Affected if Installed version 17.012.20098 through 18.009.20043 means the system is vulnerable.

A system is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed and the version falls within any of the affected ranges: 11.0.0-11.0.22, 15.006.30355-15.006.30391, or 17.012.20098-18.009.20043.

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 15.006.30392 / 18.009.20044 or later
Fixed in 15.006.3039218.009.20044
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions provided by Adobe security bulletins.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat/Reader 11.x to 11.0.23+; Acrobat/Reader DC 2015 (15.x) to 15.006.30392+; Acrobat/Reader DC 2017 (17.x) to 18.009.20044+; or migrate to latest available version (recommended)

  1. 1. Determine the installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About (or About Adobe Acrobat/Reader)
  2. 2. Close all Adobe applications before updating
  3. 3. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Adobe website or use the Adobe Acrobat/Reader auto-update feature
  4. 4. For Adobe Acrobat/Reader 11.x: Upgrade to version 11.0.23 or later
  5. 5. For Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC (2015 release, version 15.x): Upgrade to version 15.006.30392 or later
  6. 6. For Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC (2017 release, version 17.x): Upgrade to version 18.009.20044 or later
  7. 7. Verify the installation by checking Help > About to confirm the version matches or exceeds the fixed versions listed above
  8. 8. Restart the system if prompted
Caveat Standard upgrade risks apply (document compatibility, custom settings); ensure backups of important PDFs before upgrading

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-2017-11253 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