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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2018-12784

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-07-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 18.011.20040 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 and Reader 2018.011.20040 and earlier, 2017.011.30080 and earlier, and 2015.006.30418 and earlier versions have a Buffer Errors vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.

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

A buffer errors vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader allows attackers to corrupt memory and execute arbitrary code by enticing users to open specially crafted PDF files. The vulnerability affects versions 2018.011.20040 and earlier, 2017.011.30080 and earlier, and 2015.006.30418 and earlier.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions available from Adobe's official security bulletin. Prioritize patching given the critical CVSS 9.8 rating and public exploit potential.

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
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30418>= 15.008.20082, <= 18.011.20040>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30080
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30418>= 15.008.20082, <= 18.011.20040>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30080

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 Acrobat DC version
    Open Adobe Acrobat DC, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat DC, or run: Registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version (or HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version on 64-bit)
    Affected if Version number is 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30418, 15.008.20082 through 18.011.20040, or 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30080
  2. Identify installed Adobe Acrobat Reader DC version
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, or run: Registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\Version (or HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\Version on 64-bit)
    Affected if Version number is 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30418, 15.008.20082 through 18.011.20040, or 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30080
  3. Determine if vulnerable software is actively used
    Check for recent PDF opening activity or scheduled tasks associated with Adobe Acrobat/Reader, or query installed programs list for Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc entries within affected version ranges
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat Dc or Reader Dc is installed with a version in the affected ranges and the software is used to open PDF files

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc is installed with a version within 15.006.30060-15.006.30418, 15.008.20082-18.011.20040, or 17.011.30059-17.011.30080, as these versions contain the memory corruption flaw exploitable via malicious PDF files.

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 18.011.20040
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions available from Adobe's official security bulletin. Prioritize patching given the critical CVSS 9.8 rating and public exploit potential.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC 2018.011.20055 or later (or the latest 2020/2021 version)

  1. 1. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
  2. 2. Back up any important PDF files and settings as a precautionary measure
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC from the official Adobe website (https://get.adobe.com/reader/)
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
  5. 5. Restart your computer after installation completes
  6. 6. Verify the installed version by opening Adobe Acrobat/Reader and checking Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
Caveat Standard upgrade - review release notes for new features that may change workflow

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.

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-2018-12784 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