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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-16401

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 part of an image conversion, specifically in Enhanced Metafile Format Plus (EMF +) processing modules. 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 · moderate confidence

A buffer over-read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader's Enhanced Metafile Format Plus (EMF+) image processing modules allows an attacker to read data past the end of a target buffer by using an invalid pointer offset to access internal data structure fields, potentially exposing sensitive memory contents.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to versions later than 2017.012.20098, 2017.011.30066, 2015.006.30355, or 11.0.22. Consider enabling Protected View for untrusted PDF files and implementing network-level controls to restrict delivery of malicious EMF+ content.

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
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or use the command 'wmic product get name,version' to list installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader applications. Note whether it is the Classic or DC (Document Cloud) variant.
    Affected if Neither Adobe Acrobat nor Adobe Reader is installed on the system.
  2. Locate the Adobe PDF reader executable
    Navigate to the installation directory, typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Acrobat or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat 11.0\Acrobat. Right-click the main executable (Acrobat.exe or AcroRd32.exe) and select Properties > Details to view the version.
    Affected if The product is installed but the executable or its version cannot be located.
  3. Extract the installed version number
    In the Details tab of the executable properties, record the File Version value. This follows the format such as 15.006.30355, 17.012.20098, or 11.0.22.
    Affected if The version number cannot be determined from the executable.
  4. Compare version against affected ranges
    Compare your extracted version to the following vulnerable ranges: Classic versions 11.0.22 and below; DC versions 15.0 through 15.006.30355; Classic 2017 versions 17.0 through 17.011.30066; DC 2017 versions 17.0 through 17.012.20098. For DC products, also check whether the version starts with 15.x (indicating 2015) or 17.x (indicating 2017).
    Affected if Your installed version falls within any of these ranges: <=11.0.22, >=15.0 and <=15.006.30355, >=17.0 and <=17.011.30066 (Classic/Reader), or >=17.0 and <=17.012.20098 (DC).
  5. Verify EMF+ processing capability
    Open Adobe Reader or Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences > Security (Enhanced) or check if the application can render EMF+ images by opening a PDF containing EMF+ vector graphics. The vulnerability exists in the EMF+ image processing module, so this confirms the affected component is present.
    Affected if EMF+ rendering capability is disabled or unavailable, which would be unusual for standard installations.

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is installed and the version number matches one of the vulnerable ranges: 11.0.22 or lower, 15.0 to 15.006.30355, or 17.0 to 17.011.30066/17.012.20098 depending on the product variant.

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 versions later than 2017.012.20098, 2017.011.30066, 2015.006.30355, or 11.0.22. Consider enabling Protected View for untrusted PDF files and implementing network-level controls to restrict delivery of malicious EMF+ content.

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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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-2017-16401 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