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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-3037

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-04-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 15.023.20070 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 JavaScript engine. 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 confidence

Memory corruption vulnerability in the JavaScript engine of Adobe Acrobat Reader allows attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting improper memory handling when processing malicious JavaScript, leading to potential complete system compromise.

MitigationImmediately update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070. Deploy the latest available patches from Adobe to all 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
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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 to view the exact version number. Alternatively, open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features to see the installed version.
    Affected if The version displayed is 11.0.19 or earlier, or 15.006.30280 or earlier, or 15.023.20070 or earlier
  2. Confirm product type
    Determine whether the installed product is Adobe Reader, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC based on the product name shown in Help > About or Programs and Features.
    Affected if The product is any of Adobe Reader <= 11.0.19, Adobe Acrobat <= 11.0.19, Adobe Acrobat Dc <= 15.006.30280 or <= 15.023.20070, or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc <= 15.006.30280 or <= 15.023.20070
  3. Verify JavaScript is enabled
    In Adobe Reader or Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript and check if Enable Adobe JavaScript is checked.
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled - the vulnerability exploits the JavaScript engine, so this setting must be on for the flaw to be exploitable

You are affected if your installed Adobe Reader or Acrobat version is 11.0.19 or lower, or 15.006.30280 or lower, or 15.023.20070 or lower AND JavaScript is enabled in the application preferences.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 15.023.20070
Interim mitigation

Immediately update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070. Deploy the latest available patches from Adobe to all affected systems.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat 11.x: Upgrade to 11.0.20 or later | Acrobat DC/Reader DC (Continuous): Upgrade to 15.008.20033 or later

  1. Check current version: In Adobe Acrobat/Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader to confirm the installed version
  2. Close all Adobe Acrobat or Reader instances
  3. Download the latest version from the official Adobe website: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
  4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
  5. After installation, verify the new version by checking Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
Caveat Adobe updates are generally backward-compatible with PDF files; however, some legacy features or plugins may require verification after upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2017-3037 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