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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-16397

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 vulnerability occurs as a result of a computation that reads data that is past the end of the target buffer; the computation is a part of Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF) processing within the image conversion module. The use of an invalid (out-of-range) pointer offset during access of internal data structure fields causes the vulnerability. A successful attack can lead to 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

This is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader's image conversion module during Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF) processing. The vulnerability stems from using an invalid (out-of-range) pointer offset when accessing internal data structure fields, allowing reading past the end of the target buffer and potentially exposing sensitive data.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched 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 the installed Adobe product
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader. Note whether it says 'Acrobat' or 'Reader', and whether it indicates 'DC' (Document Cloud) or classic version.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (any variant). The vulnerability does not apply to other Adobe products.
  2. Determine the exact version number
    In the About dialog, read the full version number displayed (for example: 11.0.22, 17.011.30066, 15.006.30355). On Windows, you can also check the version in Programs and Features or the file properties of the executable.
    Affected if A version number is displayed that can be compared against the affected ranges.
  3. Compare against affected version ranges for Classic products
    If using classic Adobe Acrobat or Reader (not DC), compare your version to: 11.0.22 (any version up to and including) OR any version from 17.0 through 17.011.30066. For example, 11.0.20, 17.0.0, and 17.011.30066 are all affected.
    Affected if Version is 11.0.22 or lower, OR between 17.0 and 17.011.30066 inclusive.
  4. Compare against affected version ranges for DC products
    If using Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, compare your version to: any version from 15.0 through 15.006.30355, OR any version from 17.0 through 17.012.20098. For example, 15.006.30355 and 17.012.20098 are both affected.
    Affected if Version is between 15.0 and 15.006.30355 inclusive, OR between 17.0 and 17.012.20098 inclusive.
  5. Verify EMF file processing is possible
    This vulnerability is triggered when processing Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF) images in PDF files. While no specific feature must be enabled, the vulnerability applies when the software processes EMF content, which is a standard capability of Acrobat/Reader.
    Affected if The software can open and process PDF files containing EMF images, which is default behavior.

A user is affected if they have Adobe Acrobat or Reader (Classic or DC) installed with a version matching any of the affected ranges: 11.0.22 or lower, 15.0-15.006.30355, 17.0-17.011.30066 (Classic), or 17.0-17.012.20098 (DC).

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 patched 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
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,304.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2017-16397 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