CVE-2018-4903
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 TIFF processing within the XPS module. 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 confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader's TIFF processing within the XPS module. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of a target buffer during TIFF image processing, potentially exposing sensitive data from memory. Exploitation requires a user to open a maliciously crafted 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>= 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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Identify the installed Adobe productOpen Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or About Adobe Acrobat Reader). The product name and version are displayed in the dialog. Alternatively, on Windows check Add/Remove Programs or the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe for the product name.Affected if Product is Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader, or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
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Determine the exact version numberNote the version number shown in the About dialog. Version formats include: 17.x.xxxxx, 18.x.xxxxx, or 15.x.xxxxx. Record the full version string including the build number (last 5 digits).Affected if Version string matches the affected ranges below
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Compare version against affected rangesMatch your version to these vulnerable ranges: Acrobat/Reader 17.0 through 17.011.30070; Acrobat/Reader DC 15.0 through 15.006.30394 OR up to 18.009.20050; Acrobat DC Classic 15.x through 15.006.30394; Acrobat/Reader DC Continuous 18.x through 18.009.20050Affected if Installed version falls within any of these ranges: 15.0-15.006.30394, 17.0-17.011.30070, or up to 18.009.20050
Your environment is affected if the installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version is 15.x through 15.006.30394, 17.x through 17.011.30070, or up to 18.009.20050.
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 a version later than 2018.009.20050 (2018.x), 2017.011.30070 (2017.x), or 2015.006.30394 (2015.x) using Adobe's official security updates. Alternatively, disable XPS/TIFF rendering or restrict opening of untrusted PDF documents.
- Consultation1.0 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-2018-4903 — 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-2018-4903 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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