CVE-2017-3013
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 Acrobat Reader versions 11.0.19 and earlier, 15.006.30280 and earlier, 15.023.20070 and earlier have an insecure library loading (DLL hijacking) vulnerability in a DLL related to remote logging.
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 Reader versions 11.0.19 and earlier, 15.006.30280 and earlier, and 15.023.20070 and earlier contain an insecure library loading (DLL hijacking) vulnerability where a malicious DLL related to remote logging functionality can be loaded from an untrusted location, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution.
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<= 11.0.19<= 15.006.30280<= 15.023.20070<= 15.006.30280<= 15.023.20070<= 11.0.19CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/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 go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or similar menu item) to view the exact version number. Alternatively, check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\<version> or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{...} for the DisplayVersion value.Affected if The installed version matches one of the affected ranges: Acrobat/Reader 11.0.19 or earlier, or Acrobat/Reader DC 15.006.30280 or earlier, or 15.023.20070 or earlier.
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Confirm product type (Reader vs Acrobat DC)Verify whether the installed product is Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat DC. The version numbers differ in meaning between product lines (11.x for classic Reader/Acrobat, 15.x for DC versions). Check the product name in the application title bar or in Add/Remove Programs.Affected if The product is Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat (any DC variant) and the version falls within the affected ranges listed above.
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Check if remote logging feature is usedExamine the application configuration files (such as logging-related .ini or .config files in the program directory or user profile) for settings that enable remote logging or network-based log transmission.Affected if Remote logging functionality is enabled or configured, as the vulnerability specifically relates to DLL loading triggered by remote logging features.
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Verify DLL search order vulnerabilityCheck if the Adobe application directory is included in the system DLL search path. Use Process Monitor (procmon.exe) from Sysinternals to monitor DLL loading events, filtering by the Adobe process name, and observe whether DLLs are being loaded from the application directory or user-writable locations.Affected if DLLs are being loaded from the application directory or other untrusted paths rather than only from secure system locations.
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version at or below 11.0.19 (classic) or at or below 15.006.30280/15.023.20070 (DC), and the remote logging feature is used or the application loads DLLs from untrusted paths.
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 Reader to the latest version beyond the affected releases. Additionally, ensure safe DLL loading by removing the application directory from the DLL search order and avoiding untrusted network locations when opening PDF files.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-3013 — 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-2017-3013 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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