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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2018-16039

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-01-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 19.008.20081 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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 versions 2019.008.20081 and earlier, 2019.008.20080 and earlier, 2019.008.20081 and earlier, 2017.011.30106 and earlier version, 2017.011.30105 and earlier version, 2015.006.30457 and earlier, and 2015.006.30456 and earlier have a use after free 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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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, <= 15.006.30457>= 15.008.20082, <= 19.008.20081>= 17.011.30056, <= 17.011.30106>= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30456>= 15.008.20082, <= 19.008.20080>= 17.011.30056, <= 17.011.30105
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30457>= 15.008.20082, <= 19.008.20081>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30106>= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30456>= 15.008.20082, <= 19.008.20080>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30105

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

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 19.008.20081
Vendor patch helpx.adobe.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2015.006.30457+, 2017.011.30106+, or 2019.008.20081+ (or latest current version)

  1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader version by opening the application, clicking 'Help' > 'About Adobe Acrobat' (or 'About Adobe Acrobat Reader')
  2. Navigate to the Adobe security bulletin at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb18-41.html to obtain the correct patched version for your product line
  3. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader from the official Adobe website at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
  4. Close all instances of the Adobe application before installing the update
  5. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. After installation, verify the new version by checking 'Help' > 'About Adobe Acrobat' to confirm the version is beyond the last vulnerable release for your product line
Caveat Adobe updates typically have minimal breaking changes; however, review release notes for any changes to form filling, scripting, or document compatibility that may affect workflows

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

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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-2018-16039 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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