CVE-2017-3044
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 JPEG 2000 engine, related to image scaling. 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 confidenceA memory corruption vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat Reader's JPEG 2000 image parsing engine when processing maliciously crafted image files that undergo image scaling operations. The flaw allows an attacker to overwrite memory locations, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution by triggering the corruption through specially crafted JPEG 2000 image data.
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 Reader or Acrobat, then go to Help > About (or on Windows check the version in the application title bar or via Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader). Note whether it is Reader or Acrobat, and record the full version number displayed (e.g., 11.0.19 or 15.006.30280).Affected if The product is Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat (including DC variants) and the version number is at or below 11.0.19, or at or below 15.006.30280/15.023.20070 depending on the DC release line.
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Confirm product type variantDetermine if the installation is Adobe Acrobat DC (Classic or Continuous), Adobe Reader DC, or the legacy Acrobat/Reader 11.x. Check Help > About to see if 'DC' appears in the product name and whether it lists a build such as 15.006.30280 or 15.023.20070.Affected if The product is any of the DC variants (Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc) with versions 15.006.30280 or lower, or 15.023.20070 or lower.
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Verify JPEG 2000 image parsing component presenceThis vulnerability resides in the JPEG 2000 image parsing engine used when processing JPEG 2000 images within PDF files during scaling operations. The component is built into the application and loads automatically when a PDF containing JPEG 2000 images is opened.Affected if The application parses JPEG 2000 images within PDF documents; the vulnerability triggers when such images undergo scaling, meaning any PDF with embedded JPEG 2000 content could potentially trigger the flaw if opened in a vulnerable version.
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Inspect for evidence of malicious PDF handling (optional context)Examine any PDF files received or downloaded from untrusted sources for embedded JPEG 2000 image data. This can be done by opening the PDF in a hex editor or using PDF analysis tools to look for 'jp2' or 'jpx' stream markers within the PDF structure.Affected if A PDF file containing JPEG 2000 image data is opened in a vulnerable version; no additional configuration toggle exists to disable JPEG 2000 parsing in standard Adobe Reader/Acrobat.
A user is affected if Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat (any DC variant or legacy 11.x) is installed with a version at or below the affected ranges (11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070), as the built-in JPEG 2000 parsing engine will process and scale images in any PDF containing JPEG 2000 content.
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 appropriate Adobe security update for Acrobat Reader to obtain the patched version; ensure all systems are updated to a version later than 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070 depending on the product line.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-3044 — 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-2017-3044 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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