CVE-2017-3017
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 exploitable memory corruption vulnerability when handling a malformed PDF file. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution.
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 contains a memory corruption vulnerability when parsing malformed PDF files. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of specific PDF structures, potentially allowing an attacker to overwrite memory and execute arbitrary code via a specially crafted PDF document.
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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Check Adobe Acrobat or Reader versionOpen Adobe Acrobat/Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number is displayed in the dialog.Affected if Version is 11.0.19 or earlier for version 11.x, 15.006.30280 or earlier for version 15.006.x, or 15.023.20070 or earlier for version 15.023.x
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Identify the specific product and buildIn the About dialog, note both the major version (11.x or 15.x) and the exact build number (e.g., 15.006.30280). The version format varies by product line.Affected if The build number matches or is lower than the affected versions listed for the specific product variant (Acrobat vs Reader vs DC)
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Verify JavaScript handling settingsGo to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript (in Acrobat/Reader). Check if Adobe JavaScript is enabled.Affected if JavaScript is enabled - the vulnerability can be triggered through malicious JavaScript embedded in malformed PDF structures
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Confirm product variant matches affected listDetermine if the installed product is Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, or Adobe Reader. Check the product name in the About dialog or the installation.Affected if The product is one of the four variants listed (Acrobat, Acrobat DC, Acrobat Reader DC, or Reader) and the version falls within affected ranges
A user is affected if they have any of the listed Adobe products installed with a version or build number at or below the specified thresholds for their product variant.
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 dataApply the vendor-supplied patches by updating Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 11.0.20 or later for version 11.x, 15.006.30290 or later for version 15.x, and 15.023.20080 or later for version 15.023.x. Additionally, disable JavaScript in Acrobat Reader settings and warn users against opening untrusted PDF files.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-3017 — 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-2017-3017 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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