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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-3028

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-04-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.023.20070 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Adobe 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 image conversion module, related to processing of TIFF files. 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 confidence

A memory corruption vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat Reader's image conversion module when processing specially crafted TIFF files. The vulnerability can be triggered by convincing a user to open a malicious PDF containing a malicious TIFF image, leading to arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version later than 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070 as provided by Adobe's security bulletin. Users should avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.

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:<= 11.0.19
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:<= 15.006.30280<= 15.023.20070
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:<= 15.006.30280<= 15.023.20070
ReaderApplication
Affected:<= 11.0.19

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
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 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 (or About Adobe Acrobat/Reader) to display the exact version number and product name. Alternatively, check the executable file properties (right-click on the .exe file and view Details).
    Affected if The version shown is 11.0.19 or lower, 15.006.30280 or lower, or 15.023.20070 or lower for any of the products (Acrobat, Acrobat DC, Acrobat Reader DC, or Reader).
  2. Verify product type matches affected list
    Confirm whether the installed product is Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, or Adobe Reader based on the product name shown in the About dialog or Help menu.
    Affected if The product is any of the four listed: Adobe Acrobat <= 11.0.19, Adobe Acrobat DC (Classic or Continuous) <= 15.006.30280 or <= 15.023.20070, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC <= same version limits, or Adobe Reader <= 11.0.19.
  3. Check for image conversion module presence
    The vulnerability exists in the image conversion module. This module is loaded when Adobe processes embedded images in PDFs, particularly TIFF files. No special configuration check is needed; this is a core component.
    Affected if The product is one of the affected versions listed and the application can open and process PDF files containing images.
  4. Confirm vulnerability trigger condition
    The flaw is triggered when a user opens a specially crafted PDF file containing a malicious TIFF image. There is no specific registry or setting to check for this vulnerability; it is a memory corruption issue in the image parsing code.
    Affected if The installed version falls within the affected ranges AND the user opens a malicious PDF file containing a crafted TIFF image.

You are affected if your installed Adobe Acrobat/Reader version is 11.0.19 or lower, 15.006.30280 or lower, or 15.023.20070 or lower, and you open untrusted PDF 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 15.023.20070
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version later than 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070 as provided by Adobe's security bulletin. Users should avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2017-3028 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