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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2017-3047

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 use after free vulnerability in the JavaScript engine's annotation-related API. 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

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader's JavaScript engine annotation-related API. The vulnerability allows memory that has been freed to be accessed again, leading to potential arbitrary code execution when the freed memory is reallocated.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version beyond 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070. Deploy the security update through enterprise patch management systems to all affected endpoints.

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. Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Open the application, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Alternatively, check Programs and Features (Windows) or Applications folder (Mac) for Adobe Acrobat/Reader entries.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is not installed, the system is not affected by this specific vulnerability.
  2. Check the installed version number
    In the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Note the full version number displayed (e.g., 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, 15.023.20070).
    Affected if The installed version falls within these ranges: Acrobat/Reader 11.x <= 11.0.19; Acrobat/Reader DC 15.x <= 15.006.30280 or <= 15.023.20070.
  3. Confirm JavaScript is enabled in the application
    Go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript (or on newer versions, go to the hamburger menu > Settings > Privacy and Security > Adobe PDF Settings > JavaScript). Verify the 'Enable Adobe JavaScript' checkbox is checked.
    Affected if JavaScript must be enabled for the vulnerability to be exploitable. If JavaScript is disabled, the attack surface is significantly reduced.
  4. Verify annotation functionality is accessible
    Open a PDF document in the application. Look for the Comment or Annotations toolbar/panel. Try adding a basic annotation (e.g., a sticky note or highlight) to confirm the feature is available and not disabled by policy.
    Affected if The vulnerability exists in the annotation-related API. If annotations are blocked by enterprise policy or unavailable in the installation, exploitation is not possible.
  5. Identify the specific product variant and build
    Check whether the installation is Adobe Acrobat (full), Adobe Acrobat Reader (free), or one of the DC variants. In Help > About, look for 'Acrobat' vs 'Acrobat Reader' and note if it displays 'DC' (2015, 2017, or continuous track).
    Affected if The vulnerability affects specific builds: classic track versions <= 15.006.30280 and continuous track versions <= 15.023.20070 for DC products.

A system is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version matching or below 11.0.19 (version 11.x), 15.006.30280 (classic DC), or 15.023.20070 (continuous DC), with JavaScript enabled and annotation features accessible.

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 beyond 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070. Deploy the security update through enterprise patch management systems to all affected endpoints.

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2017-3047 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