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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2018-4881

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 18.009.20050 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
An 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 image conversion module that reads bitmap image file (BMP) 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 confidence

Out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader's image conversion module when processing BMP (bitmap) files. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of a target buffer during BMP parsing, potentially exposing sensitive memory data to attackers.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security update to upgrade Adobe Acrobat Reader to a fixed version (2018.009.20051 or later for 2018 track, 2017.011.30071 or later for 2017 track, 2015.006.30395 or later for 2015 track).

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
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 17.0, <= 17.011.30070
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= -, <= 18.009.20050>= 15.0, <= 15.006.30394
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 17.0, <= 17.011.30070
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= -, <= 18.009.20050>= 15.0, <= 15.006.30394

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Adobe Acrobat Reader version
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader to display the exact version number. Alternatively, on Windows, check the registry key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\<version> or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\<version> for the "Version" value.
    Affected if Version is 17.0 through 17.011.30070, or 15.0 through 15.006.30394, or any version up to and including 18.009.20050 (Reader DC versions)
  2. Confirm product type and track
    Identify whether the installation is Adobe Acrobat Reader (standard) or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (Continuous or Classic track). Check the application title bar or Help > About for 'Reader DC' designation.
    Affected if Product is Adobe Acrobat Reader DC with version <= 18.009.20050 (Continuous track) or version >= 15.0 and <= 15.006.30394 (Classic track)
  3. Verify image conversion module is available
    The image conversion module (ice32.dll or image conversion pipeline) is typically enabled by default for rendering embedded images. Confirm the application can render or convert image files.
    Affected if The image conversion functionality is present and enabled, which is the default configuration for parsing BMP files within PDF documents

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader (or Reader DC) is installed with a version number matching the specified vulnerable ranges (17.x through 17.011.30070, 15.x through 15.006.30394, or up to 18.009.20050 for DC), as the out-of-bounds read occurs when the built-in image conversion module parses BMP files embedded in PDFs.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 18.009.20050
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security update to upgrade Adobe Acrobat Reader to a fixed version (2018.009.20051 or later for 2018 track, 2017.011.30071 or later for 2017 track, 2015.006.30395 or later for 2015 track).

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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-2018-4881 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