CVE-2017-3018
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 in the renderer functionality. 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 · moderate confidenceAdobe Acrobat Reader contains a memory corruption vulnerability in its PDF rendering functionality. The flaw allows attackers to trigger memory corruption through specially crafted PDF documents, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution on affected systems.
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.
-
Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installedCheck for the presence of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader on the system. Common install paths: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat <version>\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader <version>\. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader apps.Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is not installed, the system is not affected by this specific CVE.
-
Identify the exact installed versionRight-click the Adobe application in Programs and Features, or open the application and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader to display the exact version number.Affected if The installed version number matches or falls below the affected ranges (11.0.19 or earlier for classic versions, 15.006.30280 or 15.023.20070 or earlier for DC versions).
-
Confirm the PDF rendering component is in useThe vulnerability exists in the PDF rendering functionality. This component is enabled by default in all standard installations. No additional configuration check is needed unless a restricted environment disables PDF rendering entirely.Affected if PDF rendering is enabled (default state), making the version vulnerable if it falls within the affected ranges.
-
Check for security patch indicatorsLook for installed Adobe security updates. In Windows, check Programs and Features for installed updates containing dates from June 2017 or later, or examine the application's version number which would be higher than the affected ranges after patching.Affected if No post-June-2017 security patches are installed and the version remains at or below the affected thresholds.
A system is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe 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 PDF rendering functionality is enabled (default).
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 to patch the memory corruption vulnerability in the renderer component.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,304.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-3018 — 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-2017-3018 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
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.
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.
- 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