dbcve.org
AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-16415

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 a part of the functionality that handles font encodings. The vulnerability is a result of 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's font encoding handling functionality caused by an out-of-range pointer offset that accesses sub-elements of an internal data structure, allowing potential arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply vendor security patches: update to versions 2017.012.20099 and later, 2017.011.30067 and later, 2015.006.30356 and later, or 11.0.23 and later.

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 Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) to display the exact version number. Alternatively, check Programs and Features in Control Panel for the installed version.
    Affected if Any version of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed
  2. Determine exact version number
    Note the full version string shown in the About dialog (e.g., 17.011.30066 or 15.006.30355). The version format is major.minor.patch.build (e.g., 17.0.22.XXXXX).
    Affected if The exact four-part version number cannot be determined
  3. Compare Acrobat version to affected ranges
    If using Adobe Acrobat (not Reader DC), compare your version against: 11.0.22 or earlier; OR 17.0 through 17.011.30066 inclusive. Versions 11.0.23 and later, 17.011.30067 and later are fixed.
    Affected if Acrobat version is 11.0.22 or earlier, OR between 17.0 and 17.011.30066 inclusive
  4. Compare Acrobat DC version to affected ranges
    If using Adobe Acrobat DC, compare your version against: 15.0 through 15.006.30355 inclusive; OR up to 17.012.20098. Versions 15.006.30356 and later, 17.012.20099 and later are fixed.
    Affected if Acrobat DC version is between 15.0 and 15.006.30355 inclusive, OR 17.012.20098 or earlier
  5. Compare Reader version to affected ranges
    If using Adobe Acrobat Reader (not Reader DC), compare your version against: 11.0.22 or earlier; OR 17.0 through 17.011.30066 inclusive. Versions 11.0.23 and later, 17.011.30067 and later are fixed.
    Affected if Reader version is 11.0.22 or earlier, OR between 17.0 and 17.011.30066 inclusive
  6. Compare Reader DC version to affected ranges
    If using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, compare your version against: 15.0 through 15.006.30355 inclusive; OR up to 17.012.20098. Versions 15.006.30356 and later, 17.012.20099 and later are fixed.
    Affected if Reader DC version is between 15.0 and 15.006.30355 inclusive, OR 17.012.20098 or earlier

A defender is affected if any installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version falls within the listed vulnerable ranges, regardless of configuration, since the font encoding handling is a built-in feature.

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

Apply vendor security patches: update to versions 2017.012.20099 and later, 2017.011.30067 and later, 2015.006.30356 and later, or 11.0.23 and later.

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

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16415 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2017-16415 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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