CVE-2017-16383
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. This vulnerability is an instance of a heap overflow vulnerability when processing a JPEG file embedded within an XPS document.
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 confidenceThis is a heap overflow vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader that occurs when processing JPEG files embedded within XPS documents. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted XPS file containing a malicious JPEG, as the heap memory corruption can be exploited to gain code execution.
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 the installed Adobe productOpen Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) to display the exact version number. Alternatively, check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version (or 11.0 for older versions) or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat Reader\DC\VersionAffected if The product is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (or their DC variants)
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Confirm the product variantCheck whether the installation is standard Adobe Acrobat/Reader or the Document Cloud (DC) variant by examining the product name shown in the About dialog or the registry path usedAffected if The variant is either standard Acrobat/Reader or Acrobat/Reader DC - both are affected
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Compare version against affected ranges for standard productsFor non-DC versions (11.x and 17.x): Compare your version to 11.0.22 and lower, or versions 17.0 through 17.011.30066. Note that versions between 11.0.23 and 16.x are not listed as affected for non-DC productsAffected if The version is 11.0.22 or lower, OR between 17.0 and 17.011.30066 inclusive
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Compare version against affected ranges for DC productsFor DC variants: Compare your version to 15.0 through 15.006.30355, or 17.0 through 17.012.20098. Note that versions below 15.0 or between 16.x for DC are not listedAffected if The version is 15.0 through 15.006.30355 inclusive, OR 17.0 through 17.012.20098 inclusive
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Verify XPS file processing is a potential attack vectorConfirm that the system can open XPS documents (Acrobat/Reader can process XPS files containing embedded JPEG images). The vulnerability triggers specifically when parsing malicious JPEG data within an XPS containerAffected if Users open XPS files with embedded images - this is the feature that must be exercised for the vulnerability to trigger
A system is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader (including DC variants) is installed with a version matching the affected ranges (11.0.22 or lower, 17.0-17.011.30066 for standard; 15.0-15.006.30355 or 17.0-17.012.20098 for DC) and users open XPS documents containing JPEG images.
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 released by Adobe. For organizations running affected versions, deploy the vendor security updates immediately to remediate the heap overflow vulnerability.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16383 — 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-2017-16383 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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- 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
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