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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-16372

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 untrusted pointer dereference in the JavaScript API engine. In this scenario, the JavaScript input is crafted in way that the computation results with pointer 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 with 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

An untrusted pointer dereference vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader's JavaScript API engine allows specially crafted JavaScript to read sensitive data from memory locations outside the process address space. The vulnerability results in information disclosure via an out-of-bounds read operation.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest versions beyond the affected releases (2017.012.20098, 2017.011.30066, 2015.006.30355, and 11.0.22).

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 version
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then go to Help > About (or About Adobe Acrobat/Reader). Alternatively, on Windows, check the version in the executable properties of AcroRd32.exe (Reader) or Acrobat.exe (Pro). On macOS, control-click the application and select Get Info.
    Affected if The displayed version falls within these ranges: Acrobat/Reader <= 11.0.22; 17.0 to 17.011.30066; 15.0 to 15.006.30355; or Acrobat/Reader Dc <= 17.012.20098. Version 17.x and 15.x use the 'Dc' naming (e.g., 17.012.20098, 15.006.30355).
  2. Verify JavaScript is enabled in the application
    In Adobe Reader/Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript. Confirm the 'Enable Adobe JavaScript' checkbox is checked. On the same screen, verify if 'Enable global security settings for script APIs' is unchecked, which may also affect exposure.
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled, as the vulnerability exploits the JavaScript API engine. If JavaScript is disabled entirely, the attack surface is reduced.
  3. Check for PDF files with embedded JavaScript
    Use a PDF analysis tool or open suspicious PDF files in the application. Inspect the document using the 'Extend Features' or 'Analyze Document' tools to see if JavaScript actions are present (e.g., app.docomenu, app.alert, or custom scripts in document-level JavaScript).
    Affected if The document contains embedded JavaScript. While this check does not confirm vulnerability, it identifies documents that could trigger the flaw if opened in a vulnerable version.

You are affected if you run Adobe Acrobat or Reader versions 11.0.22 or lower, versions 15.0 through 15.006.30355, versions 17.0 through 17.011.30066, or Dc versions 17.012.20098 or lower, AND JavaScript is enabled.

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 beyond the affected releases (2017.012.20098, 2017.011.30066, 2015.006.30355, and 11.0.22).

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

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

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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-2017-16372 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