CVE-2017-2974
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 · uneditedAdobe Digital Editions versions 4.5.3 and earlier have an exploitable buffer over-read vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to information disclosure.
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 Digital Editions versions 4.5.3 and earlier contain a buffer over-read vulnerability that allows reading beyond allocated memory boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive information from the application's memory space. The flaw is exploitable without authentication and could be triggered by specially crafted EPUB or PDF content.
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<= 4.5.3CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Check if Adobe Digital Editions is installedOn Windows, open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe. Look for a key named 'Adobe Digital Editions' or similar. On macOS, check /Applications folder for Adobe Digital Editions.app.Affected if The application is found in the system
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Determine the installed versionIf the registry key exists, look for a 'DisplayVersion' or 'Version' value under the Adobe Digital Editions entry. Alternatively, right-click the executable (usually at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Digital Editions 4.5\DigitalEditions.exe on Windows or /Applications/Adobe Digital Editions.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe Digital Editions on macOS), select Properties, and check the Details tab for the version number.Affected if The version displayed is 4.5.3 or any version number lower than 4.5.3 (for example, 4.5.2, 4.5.1, 4.5.0, etc.)
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Verify the file format handling is activeConfirm that the application is configured to handle EPUB or PDF file types by default. Check file associations in the OS for .epub and .pdf extensions pointing to Adobe Digital Editions, or verify the application is set as the default reader for these formats.Affected if Adobe Digital Editions is set as the default handler for EPUB or PDF files and the version is 4.5.3 or earlier
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Assess exposure to untrusted contentReview whether users in the environment have the ability to open ebook files from untrusted or external sources. Check download folders, email attachments, or shared network locations where untrusted EPUB or PDF files might be opened.Affected if Users can open arbitrary EPUB or PDF files with Adobe Digital Editions and the installed version is 4.5.3 or earlier
The environment is affected if Adobe Digital Editions version 4.5.3 or earlier is installed and the application can be used to open EPUB or PDF files, allowing specially crafted content to trigger the buffer over-read.
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 dataUpgrade Adobe Digital Editions to version 4.5.4 or later. If upgrade is not feasible, restrict the application's ability to open untrusted ebook files and monitor for anomalous behavior.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-2974 — 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-2017-2974 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data