CVE-2018-4905
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 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 where TIFF processing within the XPS module reads data past the end of the target buffer. A successful exploit can lead to sensitive data exposure.
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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Check installed Adobe Acrobat Reader versionOpen Adobe Acrobat Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader. Alternatively, check the Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\Reader\[version]\InstallPath, or on macOS check /Applications/Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.app/Contents/Info.plist for CFBundleShortVersionString.Affected if The version shown is 15.0 through 15.006.30394, 17.0 through 17.011.30070, or up to 18.009.20050 (for Reader DC variants).
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Confirm Reader DC variant if applicableCheck if the installed product is Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (the Continuous track). Look at the product name in the application title bar or in Help > About.Affected if The product is Reader DC and the version is within the affected ranges for DC versions.
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Verify XPS module is presentThe vulnerability exists in the XPS module's TIFF processing. Confirm the XPS module exists by looking for the file 'XPSDrvSmpl.exe' or related XPS components in the Reader installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\XPS).Affected if The XPS module is present and the Reader version falls within the affected version ranges.
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Reader DC is installed with a version between 15.0 and 15.006.30394, between 17.0 and 17.011.30070, or up to 18.009.20050 (for DC), and the XPS module with TIFF processing capability is present.
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 patched version that addresses this vulnerability.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,168.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-4905 — 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-2018-4905 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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