CVE-2017-16406
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 is an instance of a type confusion vulnerability in the EMF processing module. The issue causes the program to access an object using an incompatible type, leading to an out of bounds memory access. Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by using the out of bounds access for unintended reads, writes, or frees -- potentially leading to code corruption, control-flow hijack, or information leak attack.
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 confidenceAdobe Acrobat and Reader contain a type confusion vulnerability in the EMF (Enhanced Metafile) processing module. The vulnerability causes the program to access an object using an incompatible type, leading to out of bounds memory access. Attackers can exploit this for unintended reads, writes, or frees, potentially resulting in code corruption, control-flow hijack, or information disclosure.
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 product and versionOpen Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then navigate to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or similar menu item). Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel for the exact version number.Affected if The version falls within the affected ranges: Acrobat/Reader 11.0.22 and below; versions 17.0 through 17.011.30066; versions 15.0 through 15.006.30355; or Acrobat/Reader DC versions through 17.012.20098.
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Confirm EMF file handling is availableVerify that the Adobe product has the ability to process EMF (Enhanced Metafile) images. This is a standard image format supported by the graphics conversion features.Affected if EMF processing capability is present in the installation (this is enabled by default in standard installations).
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Check for recent EMF-based file processingReview recent PDF documents or image files opened in the application for EMF content. Look in the application log files if logging is enabled.Affected if EMF files have been opened or processed by the vulnerable version of the software.
If the installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version matches any of the affected version ranges listed above and EMF files can be processed, the environment is potentially 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 dataUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions provided by Adobe. Organizations should test the updates in their environment before broad deployment to ensure compatibility with existing workflows.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16406 — 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-2017-16406 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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