CVE-2017-16363
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Adobe Acrobat and Reader: 2017.012.20098 and earlier versions, 2017.011.30066 and earlier versions, 2015.006.30355 and earlier versions, and 11.0.22 and earlier versions. The vulnerability is caused by a buffer over-read in the module that handles character codes for certain textual representations. Invalid input leads to a computation where the pointer arithmetic results in a location outside valid memory locations belonging to the buffer. An attack can be used to obtain sensitive information, such as object heap addresses, etc.
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 confidenceBuffer over-read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader's character code handling module. Invalid input causes pointer arithmetic to access memory locations outside the intended buffer, allowing attackers to read sensitive heap addresses and other memory contents.
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<= 11.0.22>= 17.0, <= 17.011.30066>= -, <= 17.012.20098>= 15.0, <= 15.006.30355<= 11.0.22>= 17.0, <= 17.011.30066>= -, <= 17.012.20098>= 15.0, <= 15.006.30355CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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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Identify installed Adobe productOpen the application and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat or About Adobe Reader. Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs or the application's executable properties.Affected if The installed product is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (any variant)
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Determine exact product versionNote the full version number displayed in the About dialog (for example, 11.0.22, 17.011.30066, 15.006.30355). On Windows, also check the version in the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version or similar paths.Affected if Version cannot be determined or does not match the installed product
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Check version against Acrobat 11.x rangeCompare your version to 11.0.22 and lower. If your version is 11.0.22 or any version <= 11.0.22, you are in the affected range.Affected if Acrobat or Reader version is 11.0.22 or lower
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Check version against Acrobat 17.x rangeCompare your version to the 17.x branch. Versions 17.0 through 17.011.30066 are affected. If your version falls within this range, you are vulnerable.Affected if Acrobat or Reader version is 17.0 to 17.011.30066 inclusive
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Check version against Acrobat DC 15.x rangeCompare your version to the DC 15.x branch. Versions 15.0 through 15.006.30355 are affected. If your version falls within this range, you are vulnerable.Affected if Acrobat DC or Reader DC version is 15.0 to 15.006.30355 inclusive
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Check version against Acrobat DC 17.x rangeCompare your version to the DC 17.x branch. Versions up to 17.012.20098 are affected. If your version is 17.012.20098 or lower in this branch, you are vulnerable.Affected if Acrobat DC or Reader DC version is 17.012.20098 or lower
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat, Acrobat Reader, Acrobat DC, or Reader DC is installed and the version falls within any of these ranges: 11.0.22 or lower, 17.0-17.011.30066, 15.0-15.006.30355, or 17.012.20098 or lower.
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.
From vendor dataUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions as specified in Adobe security bulletins.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16363 — 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-2017-16363 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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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.
- 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