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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2019-16460

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 untrusted pointer dereference 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

This is an untrusted pointer dereference vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader that allows attackers to dereference invalid memory pointers. Successful exploitation enables arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The vulnerability affects multiple older versions across the 2015, 2017, and 2019 product lines.

MitigationImmediately update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions beyond 2019.021.20056, 2017.011.30152, and 2015.006.30505. Prioritize patching for systems that process untrusted PDF documents or are exposed to external networks.

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 installed Adobe product
    Open Windows Control Panel and look for 'Adobe Acrobat DC' or 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC' in Programs and Features, or check the application's Help > About menu
    Affected if Neither Adobe Acrobat DC nor Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed - not applicable
  2. Determine exact product version
    In the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat DC (or Reader DC). The version number displays as something like 15.x.x.x, 17.x.x.x, or 19.x.x.x. Alternatively, check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version (or for Reader: ...\Adobe Acrobat Reader\DC\Version)
    Affected if No version number can be determined - verify the product is correctly installed
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Match your installed version number to the affected ranges: 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30507 (inclusive), 15.008.20082 through 19.021.20057 (inclusive), or 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30155 (inclusive). Versions below 15.006.30060 are not in the affected range
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 15.006.30060-15.006.30507, 15.008.20082-19.021.20057, or 17.011.30059-17.011.30155

If Adobe Acrobat DC or Reader DC is installed with a version matching any of the three vulnerable ranges, the system is affected by CVE-2019-16460 and should be updated.

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

Immediately update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions beyond 2019.021.20056, 2017.011.30152, and 2015.006.30505. Prioritize patching for systems that process untrusted PDF documents or are exposed to external networks.

Recommended fix High confidence

15.006.30508 or later (Classic 2015); 17.011.30156 or later (2017); 19.021.20058 or later (2019/Continuous)

  1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version via Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
  2. For Acrobat DC/Reader DC Classic track (version 15.006.x): upgrade to version 15.006.30508 or later
  3. For Acrobat DC/Reader DC Continuous track (version 15.008.x - 19.x): upgrade to version 19.021.20058 or later
  4. For Acrobat DC/Reader DC 2017 track (version 17.011.x): upgrade to version 17.011.30156 or later
  5. Alternatively, download the latest version from https://get.adobe.com/reader/ or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/
  6. Verify the update was successful by checking Help > About after restarting the application
Caveat Upgrading may introduce UI changes typical of major version updates; ensure 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
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2019-16460 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