CVE-2018-15944
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 an out-of-bounds write 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 · high confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader. The flaw allows an attacker to write data outside the bounds of allocated memory buffers, which can be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious PDF file.
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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Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installedOn Windows, check Registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Install for Version value, or look in Add/Remove Programs for Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DCAffected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is present on the system
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Determine installed version numberOpen Adobe Acrobat/Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader, or check the Version in the registry path HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\InstallAffected if Version is displayed (e.g., 18.011.20063, 17.011.30102, 15.008.20082)
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Compare version against affected rangesCompare your installed version to these affected ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30452; 15.008.20082 to 18.011.20063; 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30102Affected if Installed version falls within any of these ranges
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Confirm vulnerability trigger conditionThis vulnerability is triggered when a user opens a maliciously crafted PDF file. Check whether users in your environment open PDF files from untrusted sources.Affected if Users open PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources using affected Adobe products
If Adobe Acrobat DC or Reader DC is installed and the version number falls within 15.006.30060-15.006.30452, 15.008.20082-18.011.20063, or 17.011.30059-17.011.30102, and users open PDF files, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2018-15944.
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 versions newer than 2018.011.20063, 2017.011.30102, or 2015.006.30452 respectively. Avoid opening untrusted PDF files until patches are applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-15944 — 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-2018-15944 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