CVE-2018-5038
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 · uneditedAdobe Acrobat and Reader 2018.011.20040 and earlier, 2017.011.30080 and earlier, and 2015.006.30418 and earlier versions have a Heap Overflow vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.
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 confidenceAdobe Acrobat and Reader contain a heap overflow vulnerability in versions 2018.011.20040 and earlier, 2017.011.30080 and earlier, and 2015.006.30418 and earlier. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, likely through a malicious 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>= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30418>= 15.008.20082, <= 18.011.20040>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30080>= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30418>= 15.008.20082, <= 18.011.20040>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30080CVSS 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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Identify installed Adobe productCheck Windows registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Reader, or use 'Get-ItemProperty' PowerShell command to list installed software and filter for Adobe Acrobat or Reader entriesAffected if Either Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Reader DC is installed on the system
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Retrieve installed version numberRun 'Get-ItemProperty' on the registry key for the installed product, or right-click the executable in Program Files and select Properties to view the File Version fieldAffected if The version displayed does not match the patched versions (beyond 18.011.20040 for 2018 track, beyond 17.011.30080 for 2017 track, or beyond 15.006.30418 for 2015 track)
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Compare version against vulnerable rangesMatch your installed version number (for example, 15.006.30418, 17.011.30080, or 18.011.20040) against the affected ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30418, 15.008.20082 to 18.011.20040, and 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30080Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 15.006.30060-15.006.30418, 15.008.20082-18.011.20040, or 17.011.30059-17.011.30080
The system is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Reader DC is installed with a version number within the vulnerable ranges and the user opens untrusted PDF documents.
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 dataApply the vendor-supplied security patch by updating Adobe Acrobat and Reader to a version beyond the vulnerable releases listed; prioritize patching due to the high CVSS score and potential for code execution.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5038 — 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-2018-5038 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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