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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2018-4915

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-02-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 18.009.20050 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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. The vulnerability is caused by the computation that writes data past the end of the intended buffer; the computation is part of the JavaScript API related to color conversion. 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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader's JavaScript API color conversion computation. The processing writes data past the end of the intended buffer, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution or data corruption. Exploitable via malicious PDF documents containing specially crafted JavaScript color conversion calls.

MitigationApply Adobe's security updates to remediate affected Acrobat Reader versions (2018.009.20050 and earlier, 2017.011.30070 and earlier, 2015.006.30394 and earlier). Consider disabling JavaScript in Reader as defense-in-depth.

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version
    Open Adobe Reader/Acrobat, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number appears in the dialog. Alternatively, navigate to the installation directory (typically Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat X\ or Adobe\Acrobat Reader X\) and check the properties of the executable, or use command: wmic product where "name like 'Adobe Acrobat%' or name like 'Adobe Reader%'" get name,version
    Affected if Version falls within: Acrobat/Reader 17.0 through 17.011.30070; Acrobat/Reader DC versions through 18.009.20050; or Acrobat/Reader DC 15.0 through 15.006.30394 - any of these ranges indicate the vulnerable version is installed
  2. Confirm JavaScript for Acrobat/Reader is enabled
    In Adobe Reader/Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript. Verify if the checkbox labeled 'Enable Adobe JavaScript' is currently checked.
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled - the exploit requires malicious PDF documents containing specially crafted JavaScript color conversion calls to trigger the buffer overflow when JavaScript is active
  3. Check if color conversion JavaScript functions are accessible
    This vulnerability specifically affects the JavaScript API color conversion computation. There is no configuration file to directly inspect - detection relies on the version check above. The vulnerable code path is triggered when a PDF uses JavaScript to perform color space conversions (e.g., color.convert() method).
    Affected if Version falls within affected ranges - the vulnerability exists in the color conversion code regardless of configuration, but an attacker needs to deliver a malicious PDF to trigger it

User is affected if their Adobe Acrobat or Reader version matches any of the vulnerable ranges (15.x, 17.x, or 18.x up to specified build numbers) and JavaScript remains enabled, allowing specially crafted PDF color conversion calls to trigger the buffer overflow.

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 Adobe's security updates to remediate affected Acrobat Reader versions (2018.009.20050 and earlier, 2017.011.30070 and earlier, 2015.006.30394 and earlier). Consider disabling JavaScript in Reader as defense-in-depth.

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2018-4915 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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