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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2019-16462

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 a buffer error 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 buffer error vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader allows improper memory access during PDF processing. Successful exploitation enables an attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the user viewing the malicious PDF file.

MitigationApply the vendor-released patches by updating Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest versions beyond the affected releases (2019.021.20056, 2017.011.30152/30155, 2015.006.30505 and earlier).

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. Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel and view the list of installed programs, or inspect the Windows Registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries starting with 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe Reader'.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc appears in the installed programs list.
  2. Determine the installed version of Adobe Acrobat
    Right-click on the Acrobat executable (Acrobat.exe) in Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat\DC\ or Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 2015\ or Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 2017\, select Properties, and view the File Version on the Details tab. Alternatively, query the Windows Registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\[version] for the Version or ProductVersion value.
    Affected if A version number is retrieved from the executable or registry.
  3. Determine the installed version of Adobe Reader
    Right-click on the Reader executable (AcroRd32.exe) in Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\ or Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat Reader 2015\ or Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat Reader 2017\, select Properties, and view the File Version on the Details tab. Alternatively, query the Windows Registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Reader\[version] for the Version or ProductVersion value.
    Affected if A version number is retrieved from the executable or registry.
  4. Compare installed version against affected ranges for Classic releases (2015)
    If the installed version is from the 15.006.xxxx or 15.008.xxxx series, compare the full version number (for example, 15.006.304xx) against the affected ranges: >= 15.006.30060 and < 15.006.30508, OR >= 15.008.20082 and < 19.021.20058.
    Affected if The version falls within 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30507 (inclusive) or 15.008.20082 to 19.021.20057 (inclusive).
  5. Compare installed version against affected ranges for 2017 releases
    If the installed version is from the 17.011.xxxx series, compare the full version number against the affected range: >= 17.011.30059 and < 17.011.30156.
    Affected if The version falls within 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30155 (inclusive).

The environment is affected if Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc is installed with a version matching any of these 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

Apply the vendor-released patches by updating Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest versions beyond the affected releases (2019.021.20056, 2017.011.30152/30155, 2015.006.30505 and earlier).

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC versions 15.006.30508 (Classic 2015), 17.011.30156 (2017), or 19.021.20058 (2019) or later depending on your release track

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader and navigate to Help > Check for Updates to identify the current installed version.
  2. 2. Based on your current version branch, download the appropriate security update from helpx.adobe.com: For version 15.x (Classic 2015), download version 15.006.30508 or later; For version 17.x (2017), download version 17.011.30156 or later; For version 19.x (2019), download version 19.021.20058 or later.
  3. 3. Close all Adobe applications before installing the update.
  4. 4. Run the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the update.
  5. 5. After installation, verify the updated version by checking Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader.
  6. 6. Ensure automatic updates are enabled (Edit > Preferences > Updater) to receive future security patches.
Caveat Standard security update with no expected breaking changes; ensure all work is saved before applying update

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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,050
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2019-16462 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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