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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2018-12787

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 an Out-of-bounds write 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 · high confidence

This is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader that allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user due to improper memory handling.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions beyond 2018.011.20040, 2017.011.30080, and 2015.006.30418 to remediate this critical vulnerability.

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. Confirm Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or on macOS open Finder > Applications, and look for Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC in the installed software list
    Affected if Either Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC appears in the installed programs list
  2. Locate the installed version number
    For Windows: Right-click the Adobe application in Programs and Features and select Properties, then view the Version field. Alternatively, open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat DC (or Reader) to display the full version number
    Affected if A version number is displayed showing the exact build (for example, 15.008.20082 or 17.011.30059)
  3. Compare version against the first affected range
    Compare your version number to the range 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30418. If your version falls within this inclusive range, you are affected
    Affected if The installed version is 15.006.30060, 15.006.30061, 15.006.30062, ... up to and including 15.006.30418
  4. Compare version against the second affected range
    Compare your version number to the range 15.008.20082 through 18.011.20040. If your version falls within this inclusive range, you are affected
    Affected if The installed version is 15.008.20082 or any subsequent version through 18.011.20040 (note: this includes versions like 15.009.x.x, 16.x.x.x, 17.x.x.x, and 18.x.x.x up to 18.011.20040)
  5. Compare version against the third affected range
    Compare your version number to the range 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30080. If your version falls within this inclusive range, you are affected
    Affected if The installed version is 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30080 (note: this range overlaps with the second range for 17.x versions)

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Reader DC is installed AND its version matches any of the three vulnerable ranges (15.006.30060-15.006.30418, 15.008.20082-18.011.20040, or 17.011.30059-17.011.30080). If your version is newer than 18.011.20040, newer than 17.011.30080, or older than 15.006.30060, you are likely not affected.

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 beyond 2018.011.20040, 2017.011.30080, and 2015.006.30418 to remediate this critical vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2015.006.30419 or later; 2017.011.30081 or later; 2018.011.20041 or later

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader)
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for and install available updates
  4. 4. Alternatively, download the latest security update from Adobe's official security bulletin page for this CVE
  5. 5. Restart the application after updates are installed
  6. 6. Verify the installed version by going to Help > About to confirm it exceeds the vulnerable versions
Caveat Standard Adobe update—review release notes for any feature changes; updates are cumulative security patches

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2018-12787 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