CVE-2018-5064
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 write 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 · moderate confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader affecting multiple older version branches (2015, 2017, and 2018). The memory corruption flaw allows an attacker to write data beyond allocated buffer boundaries, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution with the current user's privileges.
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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 if Adobe Acrobat or Reader DC is installedOpen the application and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat DC (or Reader DC), or check the installed programs list in Windows Control Panel > Programs and FeaturesAffected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (Continuous track) is present on the system
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Determine the exact installed version numberIn the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat DC. The version number appears in the format YYMM.xxxxxx (e.g., 18.011.20040). On Windows, you can also right-click the executable in Program Files and view Properties > Details for the File VersionAffected if The version cannot be determined or the product is not the Continuous (DC) track
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Compare your version against the affected rangesCheck if your 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. These correspond to the 2015, 2017, and 2018 version branchesAffected if The installed version falls within any of the listed ranges (the system is vulnerable)
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Verify if the version has been patched to a safe releaseCompare your version against the fixed releases: 2015.006.30419 or higher, 2017.011.30081 or higher, or 2018.011.20041 or higherAffected if The installed version is below these patch levels (the system is still vulnerable)
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Reader DC (Continuous track) is installed with a version number matching any of the affected ranges listed in the CVE, specifically versions 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.
dbcve · scopedApply the vendor patches from Adobe Security Bulletin APSB18-29 by updating to version 2018.011.20041 or later (2017.011.30081+, 2015.006.30419+). Until patched, exercise caution with untrusted PDF files and consider disabling JavaScript execution in Acrobat/Reader preferences.
Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2015.006.30418+ for 2015 track; 2017.011.30080+ for 2017 track; 2018.011.20040+ for 2018 track
- Identify the exact installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version by opening the application, clicking Help, then About Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat
- Determine which release track your version belongs to: 2015 (version 15.x), 2017 (version 17.x), or 2018 (version 18.x)
- For Acrobat DC/Reader DC Classic track (15.x versions): ensure version is later than 15.006.30418
- For Acrobat DC/Reader DC Continuous track (versions 15.008.20082-18.011.20040): ensure version is later than 18.011.20040
- For Acrobat/Reader 2017 (17.x versions): ensure version is later than 17.011.30080
- Download and install the appropriate security update from helpx.adobe.com or the Adobe Security Bulletins page
- Restart the application after installing the update
- Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed version for your release track
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5064 — 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-2018-5064 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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