CVE-2018-4880
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Adobe Acrobat Reader 2018.009.20050 and earlier versions, 2017.011.30070 and earlier versions, 2015.006.30394 and earlier versions. This vulnerability occurs as a result of computation that reads data that is past the end of the target buffer; the computation is part of the conversion module that reads U3D data. A successful attack can lead to sensitive data exposure.
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat Reader's U3D (Universal 3D) conversion module. The vulnerability occurs when the module reads data past the end of the target buffer during U3D file processing, potentially exposing sensitive memory contents to an attacker.
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>= 17.0, <= 17.011.30070>= -, <= 18.009.20050>= 15.0, <= 15.006.30394>= 17.0, <= 17.011.30070>= -, <= 18.009.20050>= 15.0, <= 15.006.30394CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 Reader is installedCheck for the presence of Adobe Acrobat Reader executable (AcroRd32.exe) or Adobe Acrobat (Acrobat.exe) in typical installation paths such as C:\Program Files\Adobe\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Affected if The software is not found, then not applicable; if found, continue to version check
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Determine the installed version of Adobe Acrobat ReaderRight-click on AcroRd32.exe, select Properties, then go to the Details tab to view the Product Version field. Alternatively, open Adobe Acrobat Reader and navigate to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader to display the version number.Affected if Version cannot be determined, then status is unknown
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Compare installed version against affected rangesMatch your detected version number against the affected ranges: Adobe Acrobat Reader 17.x versions 17.0 through 17.011.30070; Adobe Acrobat Reader DC versions 15.0 through 15.006.30394 or up to 18.009.20050. For Adobe Acrobat (non-DC), check version 17.x from 17.0 to 17.011.30070.Affected if Installed version falls within any of these ranges: 17.0 to 17.011.30070, 15.0 to 15.006.30394, or up to 18.009.20050 (for DC variants)
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Determine if U3D file processing is usedThe vulnerability triggers when processing U3D (Universal 3D) files within PDF documents. Check whether your environment routinely opens or converts PDF files that may contain embedded 3D content, particularly from untrusted sources.Affected if U3D files are processed and version falls within affected ranges, then vulnerable
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is installed with a version within the ranges 17.0-17.011.30070, 15.0-15.006.30394, or up to 18.009.20050 (for DC variants) AND the application processes U3D files.
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 Reader to the latest version or apply the vendor patch for the affected versions (2018.x, 2017.x, and 2015.x).
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-4880 — 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-2018-4880 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
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