CVE-2018-12836
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 and Reader versions 2018.011.20063 and earlier, 2017.011.30102 and earlier, and 2015.006.30452 and earlier have a heap overflow vulnerability. 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 confidenceHeap overflow vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2018.011.20063 and earlier, 2017.011.30102 and earlier, and 2015.006.30452 and earlier allows successful attackers to execute arbitrary code through memory corruption.
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>= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30452>= 15.008.20082, <= 18.011.20063>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30102>= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30452>= 15.008.20082, <= 18.011.20063>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30102CVSS 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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Confirm Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installedCheck for installation in the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\Acrobat.exe or AcroRd32.exe, or look in C:\Program Files\Adobe or C:\Program Files (x86)\AdobeAffected if Either Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is present on the system
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Determine the installed version of Adobe Acrobat DCRight-click on AcroRd32.exe (Reader) or Acrobat.exe (Acrobat) in the installation directory, select Properties, and view the Details tab for the Product VersionAffected if The version number falls within these ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30452, 15.008.20082 to 18.011.20063, or 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30102
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Check version via Windows RegistryQuery the Windows Registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version (or 17.x for version 2017) and read the value under the Version or ProductVersion subkeyAffected if The retrieved version matches any of the affected version ranges listed in the CVE
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Verify exact product name and build numberIn Adobe Acrobat or Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat DC) to display the full version and build stringAffected if The build number is 2018.011.20063 or earlier, 2017.011.30102 or earlier, or 2015.006.30452 or earlier
The system is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed with a version number matching any of the listed vulnerable ranges (15.006.30060 through 15.006.30452, 15.008.20082 through 18.011.20063, or 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30102).
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 and Reader to the latest patched version to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-12836 — 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-2018-12836 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data