CVE-2018-5049
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 · high confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader. The vulnerability exists in the software's handling of PDF content parsing, where the software reads memory beyond allocated buffer boundaries. Successful exploitation allows an attacker to read sensitive information from the system's memory through a specially 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>= 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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Identify installed Adobe productOn Windows, open Programs and Features or check Registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\InstallVersion. On macOS, right-click the application in Applications and select Get Info to view the version. Alternatively, open Adobe Acrobat/Reader and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader.Affected if The installed product is Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, and the version falls within any of the affected ranges.
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Determine exact version numberLocate the full version string displayed in About dialog or registry (format appears as XX.XXX.XXXXX such as 18.011.20040, 17.011.30080, or 15.006.30418). Record the complete version number including all five digits after the decimal point.Affected if Version is 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30418, OR 15.008.20082 through 18.011.20040, OR 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30080.
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Verify product track and yearIdentify whether the installation is Classic or Continuous track based on the version prefix: 15.x indicates 2015 versions, 17.x indicates 2017 versions, and 18.x indicates 2018 versions. Cross-reference with the affected ranges for that specific year track.Affected if The version is within the affected range for its respective year track as listed above.
A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed with a version matching any of the three affected 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 dataUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest version or a version newer than 2018.011.20040 (for 2018.x), 2017.011.30080 (for 2017.x), and 2015.006.30418 (for 2015.x). Apply the relevant security patch from Adobe.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2018-5049 — 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-2018-5049 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