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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-16364

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-12-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 17.012.20098 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
An 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. This issue is due to an untrusted pointer dereference when handling number format dictionary entries. In this scenario, the input is crafted in way that the computation results in pointers to memory locations that do not belong to the relevant process address space. The dereferencing operation is a read operation, and an attack can result in sensitive data exposure.

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 untrusted pointer dereference vulnerability when handling number format dictionary entries. The application computes pointers to memory locations outside the process address space, and the subsequent read operation can expose sensitive data from memory.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest versions as released by Adobe. Prioritize systems handling sensitive documents.

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:<= 11.0.22>= 17.0, <= 17.011.30066
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= -, <= 17.012.20098>= 15.0, <= 15.006.30355
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:<= 11.0.22>= 17.0, <= 17.011.30066
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= -, <= 17.012.20098>= 15.0, <= 15.006.30355

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify the installed Adobe product
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader). Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs or the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe for the product name.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (any variant) - the vulnerability affects both product lines.
  2. Determine if this is a Continuous (Dc) or Classic version
    Check the product name displayed in About dialog or in the installed programs list. The 'Dc' suffix indicates the Continuous release track.
    Affected if Both Continuous (Dc) and Classic versions are affected, so this step only determines which version range to compare against.
  3. Obtain the exact version number
    In the About dialog, note the full version number (for example: 11.0.22, 17.0.30066, 15.0.30355). The version format varies between product tracks.
    Affected if The installed version matches one of the affected ranges provided in the CVE.
  4. Compare Classic version 11.x against affected range
    For Classic Acrobat/Reader 11.x: if version number is <= 11.0.22, the installation is affected.
    Affected if Classic version 11.x is 11.0.22 or lower.
  5. Compare Classic version 17.x against affected range
    For Classic Acrobat/Reader 17.x: if version is >= 17.0 and <= 17.011.30066, the installation is affected.
    Affected if Classic version 17.x is between 17.0 and 17.011.30066 inclusive.
  6. Compare Continuous (Dc) versions against affected ranges
    For Dc versions: if version >= 15.0 and <= 15.006.30355, OR version <= 17.012.20098, the installation is affected.
    Affected if Dc version is between 15.0 and 15.006.30355, or is 17.012.20098 or lower.

A user is affected if the installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version falls within any of the vulnerable ranges: 11.x versions 11.0.22 or lower, 17.x versions 17.0 through 17.011.30066, Dc 15.x versions 15.0 through 15.006.30355, or Dc 17.x versions 17.012.20098 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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 17.012.20098
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest versions as released by Adobe. Prioritize systems handling sensitive documents.

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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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-2017-16364 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