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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-16416

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 the image conversion module that handles Enhanced Metafile Format Plus (EMF+) data. 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

Adobe Acrobat and Reader contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the image conversion module that handles Enhanced Metafile Format Plus (EMF+) data. The vulnerability stems from an out-of-range pointer offset used to access sub-elements of an internal data structure, causing the computation to write data past the end of the intended buffer. This memory corruption can potentially be leveraged for arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply the vendor security updates from Adobe for the affected versions (2017.012.20098 and earlier, 2017.011.30066 and earlier, 2015.006.30355 and earlier, 11.0.22 and earlier). Consider enabling Protected View for files from untrusted sources as an additional hardening measure.

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 and version
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader). Alternatively, check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\InstallVersion for product information, or check the application executable properties.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader, or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC and the version falls within any of these ranges: 11.0.22 or lower, 15.0 to 15.006.30355, 17.0 to 17.011.30066, or 17.012.20098 or lower.
  2. Confirm product variant
    Verify whether the installed version is the classic version (Acrobat/Reader) or the DC (Document Cloud) variant by checking the product name in Help > About or the registry key path.
    Affected if The product is any DC variant (Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC) with versions 15.0 to 15.006.30355 or up to 17.012.20098.
  3. Check if EMF+ image files are processed
    Determine whether the system processes Enhanced Metafile Format Plus (EMF+) image files. This can occur when inserting, importing, or viewing images in PDF documents, or when converting documents containing embedded EMF+ graphics.
    Affected if EMF+ images are processed in PDF documents using the vulnerable image conversion module.

A user is affected if they have any version of Adobe Acrobat or Reader (including DC variants) at version 11.0.22 or below, 15.0 through 15.006.30355, 17.0 through 17.011.30066, or 17.012.20098 or below, and process untrusted EMF+ image files.

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 the vendor security updates from Adobe for the affected versions (2017.012.20098 and earlier, 2017.011.30066 and earlier, 2015.006.30355 and earlier, 11.0.22 and earlier). Consider enabling Protected View for files from untrusted sources as an additional hardening measure.

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2017-16416 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