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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-16404

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. The vulnerability is caused by a computation that writes data past the end of the intended buffer; the computation is part of processing Enhanced Metafile Format Plus (EMF+). The vulnerability is a result of an out of range pointer offset that is used to access sub-elements of an internal data structure. An attacker can potentially leverage the vulnerability to corrupt sensitive data or execute arbitrary code.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader when processing Enhanced Metafile Format Plus (EMF+) files. The vulnerability stems from an out-of-range pointer offset used to access sub-elements of an internal data structure during EMF+ parsing, causing data to be written past the end of the intended buffer.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions available from Adobe. Avoid opening untrusted EMF+ files until updates are applied.

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
    Check for installed Adobe software via Control Panel > Programs and Features, or query the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries containing 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe Reader'. Note whether it is Acrobat or Reader, and whether it is the Classic or DC variant.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader (any variant)
  2. Retrieve installed version number
    Open the Adobe application and navigate to Help > About, or check the file version of the executable (e.g., AcroRd32.exe for Reader or Acrobat.exe for Acrobat) in the installation directory. On Windows, you can also query the 'DisplayVersion' value from the registry key found in the previous step.
    Affected if A version number is obtained from the installed product
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Match the installed version to the following affected ranges: Acrobat 11.x <= 11.0.22; Acrobat 17.x >= 17.0 to <= 17.011.30066; Acrobat DC 15.x >= 15.0 to <= 15.006.30355; Acrobat DC 17.x <= 17.012.20098; Reader 11.x <= 11.0.22; Reader 17.x >= 17.0 to <= 17.011.30066; Reader DC 15.x >= 15.0 to <= 15.006.30355; Reader DC 17.x <= 17.012.20098.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected ranges listed above
  4. Confirm EMF+ file processing capability
    Verify the application has the capability to render or process image files. This is default functionality in both Acrobat and Reader. To confirm, attempt to open an EMF+ file (with .emf extension containing EMF+ data) or check file type associations in the application.
    Affected if The application can open or render EMF+ files (this is enabled by default)
  5. Check for recent security updates
    In the Adobe application, go to Help > Check for Updates, or manually compare the installed build number against the fixed versions released by Adobe for this CVE (Acrobat and Reader versions after the affected ranges listed above).
    Affected if The installed build is older than the patched versions released for this vulnerability

A user is affected if they have Adobe Acrobat or Reader installed with a version falling within the specified affected ranges and the application can process EMF+ files (default behavior).

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 available from Adobe. Avoid opening untrusted EMF+ files until updates are applied.

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

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-2017-16404 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