CVE-2017-3054
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 image conversion engine, related to manipulation of EMF 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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader's image conversion engine allows arbitrary code execution when processing specially crafted EMF (Enhanced Metafile) files. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of EMF file manipulation within the image conversion component.
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 productCheck for Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, or Adobe Reader in Programs and Features (Windows) or via command: ls /Applications | grep -i adobe (macOS)Affected if No Adobe product is installed - not affected; if installed, proceed to version check
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Determine installed versionOpen Adobe Reader/Acrobat, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number appears in the format XX.X.XXXXX. Alternatively, check registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\Version (Windows)Affected if Version cannot be determined - further investigation needed
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Compare against vulnerable versionsCompare your installed version to these affected ranges: Acrobat/Reader 11.x versions <= 11.0.19, Acrobat/Reader DC versions <= 15.006.30280, or <= 15.023.20070Affected if Your version falls within any of these ranges - potentially affected
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Verify image conversion component existsThe vulnerability is in the image conversion engine. Confirm the Image Conversion plugin is present: check for ImageConvert.api in the plugin folder (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat [version]\Acrobat\plug_ins\ on Windows)Affected if Plugin is missing, the specific attack surface may not exist, but version-based risk remains
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Check for EMF file handling capabilityVerify the product can process EMF files - try opening any EMF file or check file type associations. The vulnerability triggers when processing specially crafted EMF files through the conversion engine.Affected if EMF files can be processed - the exploitation pathway is present if version is vulnerable
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat, Acrobat Reader DC, or Adobe Reader is installed with a version number at or below 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070 respectively.
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 the latest patched version beyond 11.0.19, 15.006.30280, or 15.023.20070 respectively, or apply the vendor-supplied security patches.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-3054 — 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-2017-3054 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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- 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
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