CVE-2017-16385
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 access with an incorrect length value in TIFF parsing during XPS conversion. Crafted TIFF image input causes a mismatch between allocated buffer size and the access allowed by the computation. If an attacker can adequately control the accessible memory then this vulnerability can be leveraged to achieve arbitrary code execution.
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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat and Reader's TIFF image parser during XPS conversion. The vulnerability occurs when a crafted TIFF image causes a mismatch between the allocated buffer size and the length value used for memory access, allowing an attacker to potentially execute arbitrary code if they can control the accessible memory.
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, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader (or press Ctrl+I) to see the exact product name and version number. Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs (Windows) or Applications folder (Mac) for the installed product variant.Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Acrobat Dc, or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc.
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Determine the exact version numberNote the full version number displayed in the About dialog. For DC variants, confirm whether it is the 'Classic' version or the continuous 'DC' version, as version numbering differs between them.Affected if The installed version cannot be determined or does not match the product naming in the affected versions list.
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Compare version against affected rangesMatch your installed version to these ranges: Acrobat/Reader 11.0.x versions up to 11.0.22 are affected; versions 17.x up to 17.011.30066 are affected; Acrobat/Reader DC versions 15.x up to 15.006.30355 are affected; Acrobat/Reader DC versions 17.x up to 17.012.20098 are affected. Any version within these ranges is vulnerable.Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected version ranges listed.
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Confirm XPS conversion feature existsThe vulnerability triggers when processing a TIFF image during XPS conversion. In Acrobat/Reader, this typically occurs when opening or converting PDF files containing TIFF images, or when using the XPS conversion feature accessible via File > Save as Other > XPS. This is a built-in feature.Affected if The software can open or convert documents containing TIFF images to XPS format, which is standard functionality in affected versions.
If Adobe Acrobat or Reader (including DC variants) is installed and the version falls within the affected ranges (11.0.x through 11.0.22, 17.x through 17.011.30066, 15.x through 15.006.30355, or 17.x through 17.012.20098), the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 dataApply the official Adobe security updates to patch the affected Acrobat and Reader versions. For organizations, inventory all installations and deploy patches systematically, then verify successful installation.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16385 — 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-2017-16385 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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