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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-16365

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. The vulnerability is caused by a buffer over-read in the True Type2 Font parsing module. A corrupted cmap table 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 confidence

Buffer over-read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader's True Type2 Font parsing module. A corrupted cmap table in embedded fonts triggers incorrect pointer arithmetic, allowing reads outside buffer boundaries and leakage of sensitive memory information like heap addresses.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to patched versions (2018.009.20050, 2017.011.30070, 2015.006.30417, 11.0.23 or later). Avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources until updates are applied.

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 installed Adobe product and variant
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) to see which product (Acrobat/Reader) and variant (Classic/Acrobat DC/Reader DC) is installed.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat or Reader in any variant.
  2. Determine the installed version number
    In the About dialog, note the exact version number displayed (for example, 11.0.22 or 17.011.30066).
    Affected if A version number is displayed.
  3. Check version against affected ranges for Acrobat Classic
    For Adobe Acrobat (Classic): versions <= 11.0.22 OR >= 17.0 through 17.011.30066 are affected. Compare your version to these ranges.
    Affected if Your Acrobat version is 11.0.22 or lower, OR between 17.0 and 17.011.30066 inclusive.
  4. Check version against affected ranges for Acrobat DC
    For Adobe Acrobat DC: versions >= 15.0 through 15.006.30355 OR <= 17.012.20098 are affected. Compare your version to these ranges.
    Affected if Your Acrobat DC version is between 15.0 and 15.006.30355 inclusive, OR 17.012.20098 or lower.
  5. Check version against affected ranges for Reader Classic
    For Adobe Reader (Classic): versions <= 11.0.22 OR >= 17.0 through 17.011.30066 are affected. Compare your version to these ranges.
    Affected if Your Reader version is 11.0.22 or lower, OR between 17.0 and 17.011.30066 inclusive.
  6. Check version against affected ranges for Reader DC
    For Adobe Reader DC: versions >= 15.0 through 15.006.30355 OR <= 17.012.20098 are affected. Compare your version to these ranges.
    Affected if Your Reader DC version is between 15.0 and 15.006.30355 inclusive, OR 17.012.20098 or lower.

You are affected if your installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version falls within any of the specified vulnerable ranges, and you open PDF files containing a corrupted cmap table in embedded fonts.

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 patched versions (2018.009.20050, 2017.011.30070, 2015.006.30417, 11.0.23 or later). Avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources until updates are applied.

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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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-2017-16365 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