CVE-2017-16405
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 occurs as a result of a computation that reads data that is past the end of the target buffer; the computation is part of Acrobat's page display functionality. 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 confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader's page display functionality. The vulnerability stems from using an invalid (out-of-range) pointer offset when accessing internal data structure fields, causing the software to read data past the end of the target buffer. A successful exploit allows attackers to expose sensitive data.
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 installed Adobe productOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or right-click the Acrobat/Reader shortcut and select 'Properties' to view the version. Alternatively, launch the application and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader.Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (including DC variants) is installed
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Determine exact version numberIn the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader. Note the full version number (e.g., 17.011.30066, 15.006.30355, 11.0.22). For DC versions, also check Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.Affected if Version cannot be determined or is within the affected ranges
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Compare against affected version rangesMatch your installed version against: Acrobat/Reader 11.x: <= 11.0.22; Acrobat/Reader 2017 (17.x): 17.0 to 17.011.30066; Acrobat/Reader 2015 (15.x): 15.0 to 15.006.30355; Acrobat/Reader DC: <= 17.012.20098Affected if Installed version falls within any of these ranges: 11.0.22 or lower, 17.0-17.011.30066, 15.0-15.006.30355, or DC versions 17.012.20098 or lower
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader (Classic or DC) is installed and the installed version matches or falls below the specific version numbers listed in the affected ranges.
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 versions that address this vulnerability (versions later than 2017.012.20098, 2017.011.30066, 2015.006.30355, and 11.0.22).
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16405 — 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-2017-16405 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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