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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2019-16445

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.006.30508 / 17.011.30156 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions , 2019.021.20056 and earlier, 2017.011.30152 and earlier, 2017.011.30155 and earlier version, 2017.011.30152 and earlier, and 2015.006.30505 and earlier have an use after free vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution .

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

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat and Reader affecting multiple versions (2019.021.20056 and earlier, 2017.x versions before 30155, and 2015.006.30505 and earlier). The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting improper memory handling when processing specially crafted PDF files, leading to memory corruption that can be leveraged for code execution.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest version beyond the affected releases listed. In enterprise environments, deploy the patch via patch management systems and verify successful installation across all endpoints.

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
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30060, < 15.006.30508>= 15.008.20082, < 19.021.20058>= 17.011.30059, < 17.011.30156
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30060, < 15.006.30508>= 15.008.20082, < 19.021.20058>= 17.011.30059, < 17.011.30156

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Adobe Acrobat or Reader installation
    Open Windows Control Panel, go to Programs and Features, or use command 'wmic product get name,version' to list installed software. Look for 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe Reader' entries.
    Affected if Either Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is present in the installed programs list
  2. Determine the exact version number
    Right-click on the Adobe product in Programs and Features and select Properties, or use 'wmic product where "name like '%Adobe%'" get name,version'. Note the full version number displayed (for example: 19.021.20056 or 17.011.30059).
    Affected if The installed version number is visible and can be compared against the affected ranges
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Check if the installed version falls within any of these ranges: 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30507, 15.008.20082 through 19.021.20057, or 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30155. Compare your exact version number to these boundaries.
    Affected if The installed version is greater than or equal to 15.006.30060 but less than 15.006.30508, OR greater than or equal to 15.008.20082 but less than 19.021.20058, OR greater than or equal to 17.011.30059 but less than 17.011.30156
  4. Verify the product is Adobe Acrobat Dc or Reader Dc
    Confirm from Programs and Features that the product name includes 'Acrobat' and 'DC' (not 'Classic' or older versions). The CVE specifically affects DC (Document Cloud) versions.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, and its version matches the affected ranges above

A user is affected if they have Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC installed with a version number matching any of the three affected ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30507, 15.008.20082 to 19.021.20057, or 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30155.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 15.006.30508 / 17.011.30156 / 19.021.20058 or later
Fixed in 15.006.3050817.011.3015619.021.20058
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest version beyond the affected releases listed. In enterprise environments, deploy the patch via patch management systems and verify successful installation across all endpoints.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC 2019 (version 19.021.20058 or later), or 2017 (version 17.011.30156 or later), or 2015 (version 15.006.30508 or later)

  1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat or Reader version by opening the application, selecting Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader)
  2. Note the version number displayed (e.g., 2019.021.20056 or earlier)
  3. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC from the official Adobe website (adobe.com)
  4. Close all Adobe applications and any web browsers with PDF files open
  5. Run the installer downloaded from Adobe's official website
  6. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the update
  7. After installation, verify the new version by checking Help > About to confirm it shows version 19.021.20058 or later (for 2019 track), or the equivalent fixed versions for 2017 and 2015 tracks
Caveat Standard Adobe update - may require accepting new license terms; verify compatibility with any integrated PDF workflows or plugins

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2019-16445 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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