CVE-2018-5046
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 an Out-of-bounds read vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to information disclosure.
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 · moderate confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader affecting multiple versions across three major release lines (2015, 2017, and 2018). The vulnerability occurs when the software reads memory beyond allocated buffer boundaries, potentially allowing an attacker to extract sensitive information from the application's memory space.
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
- 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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Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installedOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or macOS Applications folder. Look for 'Adobe Acrobat DC' or 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC' in the installed software list.Affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is present on the system
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Determine installed product versionRight-click on the application shortcut or executable, select Properties, then go to the Details tab. Alternatively, open Adobe Acrobat/Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader to display the exact version number.Affected if The displayed version matches any of the affected ranges: 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30418, 15.008.20082 through 18.011.20040, or 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30080
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Confirm product edition is Continuity Comics or Reader variantCheck the product name in Programs and Features or About dialog. The affected products are specifically 'Adobe Acrobat DC' and 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC' with the Continuous or Classic update track versions.Affected if The installed product is Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, not other Adobe products like Adobe Pro extended or Standard editions which may have different version schemes
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Cross-reference version against patched releasesCompare your installed four-part version number to the safe versions: 2015.006.30425 or later, 2017.011.30090 or later, 2018.011.20050 or later. Note that a lower version number within the affected ranges indicates vulnerability.Affected if The installed version is lower than the safe versions for its release line, meaning it falls within the vulnerable ranges specified
A system is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (Continuous or Classic track) is installed with a version number matching any of the three vulnerable ranges: 15.006.30060-15.006.30418, 15.008.20082-18.011.20040, or 17.011.30059-17.011.30080.
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 updates for Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the patched versions (2018.011.20050 or later for 2018.x, 2017.011.30090 or later for 2017.x, and 2015.006.30425 or later for 2015.x). Avoid opening untrusted PDF documents until patches are deployed.
- 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-2018-5046 — 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-2018-5046 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data