CVE-2018-4901
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. The vulnerability is caused by the computation that writes data past the end of the intended buffer; the computation is part of the document identity representation. An attacker can potentially leverage the vulnerability to corrupt sensitive data or execute arbitrary code.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader's document identity representation computation that allows writing data past the end of the intended buffer, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution or data 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>= 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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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Check Adobe Acrobat Reader installed version on WindowsOpen Windows Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\Reader\[Version]\InstallPath, or check the version via Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader within the applicationAffected if The displayed version falls within 17.0 to 17.011.30070, 15.0 to 15.006.30394, or any version up to and including 18.009.20050 (for Reader Dc variants)
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Identify if running Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader DcConfirm the specific product installed (Acrobat vs Acrobat Reader) and whether it is the 'Dc' (Document Cloud) variant by checking the application name in Start Menu or the product name under Help > AboutAffected if Any of the four product lines (Acrobat, Acrobat Dc, Acrobat Reader, Acrobat Reader Dc) with a version matching the affected ranges
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Compare installed version against affected rangesFor standard Adobe Acrobat/Reader: check if version is between 17.0 and 17.011.30070 inclusive. For Acrobat Dc/Reader Dc: check if version is between 15.0 and 15.006.30394 inclusive OR any version up to 18.009.20050Affected if The installed version matches any of the listed vulnerable ranges: 17.x up to 17.011.30070, 15.x up to 15.006.30394, or 18.x up to 18.009.20050
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Verify the document processing component is presentConfirm the core Adobe PDF handling libraries (AcroRd32.dll or AcroPDF.dll) exist in the installation directory, typically under C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat Reader [Version]\ReaderAffected if The vulnerable PDF processing component is installed and can be used to open PDF documents
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader (or Acrobat) is installed with a version number matching any of the vulnerable ranges: 17.0-17.011.30070, 15.0-15.006.30394, or up to 18.009.20050 for Dc variants.
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 dataUpgrade Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 2018.009.20050, 2017.011.30070, or 2015.006.30394 (depending on the product line) to obtain the patched version.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2018-4901 — 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-2018-4901 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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