CVE-2017-3048
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 heap overflow vulnerability in the image conversion engine, related to internal scan line representation in 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 · moderate confidenceA heap overflow vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat Reader's image conversion engine, specifically in how the engine handles internal scan line representation when processing TIFF files. The flaw allows heap memory corruption that can be triggered by specially crafted TIFF files, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious PDF containing a crafted TIFF image.
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.
-
Identify installed Adobe productOpen Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or About Adobe Reader). Alternatively, right-click the executable (such as AcroRd32.exe, Acrofx32.exe, or Acrobat.exe) in Program Files and select Properties > Details to view the product version.Affected if The version displayed matches one of the affected versions: 11.0.19 or earlier for Adobe Reader/Acrobat 11.x; 15.006.30280 or earlier for Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC Classic; or 15.023.20070 or earlier for Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC Continuous.
-
Confirm the vulnerable component is presentVerify the image conversion engine component exists on the system by checking for the presence of the main Adobe executable (AcroRd32.exe for Reader or Acrobat.exe for Acrobat) in the installation directory, typically under C:\Program Files\Adobe or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe.Affected if The executable is found and its version falls within the affected ranges listed above.
-
Check if PDF files with embedded TIFF images can be processedOpen any existing PDF file that contains an embedded TIFF image, or examine the application's capability to render TIFF images by checking File > Create > PDF From Scanner (which uses the image conversion engine) or attempting to open a PDF containing a TIFF in the Preferences > Page Display > Rendering settings.Affected if The application successfully renders or processes TIFF images within PDFs, indicating the vulnerable image conversion engine is active and exploitable.
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is installed with a version at or below 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070 (depending on the product line) and the application can process TIFF images embedded in PDF files.
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 a version later than 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070 respectively. Until patches are applied, avoid opening untrusted PDF files or disable the rendering of embedded images.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-3048 — 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-2017-3048 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