CVE-2019-16470
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 Reader versions 2019.021.20056 and earlier are affected by a Stack-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
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 confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 2019.021.20056 and earlier allows arbitrary code execution when a victim opens a specially crafted malicious 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, <= 15.006.30505>= 15.008.20082, <= 19.021.20056>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30152>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30155>= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30505>= 15.008.20082, <= 19.021.20056>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30152CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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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Check if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader DC is installedOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or on macOS open Finder and search for 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe Reader'. Look for Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC in the installed programs list.Affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is present on the system
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Determine the installed version of Adobe Acrobat DCIn Windows, right-click on the Adobe Acrobat DC shortcut, select Properties, and look at the 'Details' tab for the product version. Alternatively, open Adobe Acrobat DC, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat DC to display the exact version number.Affected if The displayed version falls within these vulnerable ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30505, 15.008.20082 to 19.021.20056, 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30152, or 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30155
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Determine the installed version of Adobe Acrobat Reader DCOpen Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to display the exact version number. The version will appear as a four-part number (such as 19.021.20056).Affected if The displayed version falls within these vulnerable ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30505, 15.008.20082 to 19.021.20056, or 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30152
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Confirm the product variant (Acrobat vs Reader)Verify whether the installed product is Adobe Acrobat DC (the full paid version) or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (the free version), as both have overlapping but distinct vulnerable version ranges.Affected if The installed product matches either Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC with a version in the affected ranges
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed with a version number matching any of the listed vulnerable ranges (15.006.30060-15.006.30505, 15.008.20082-19.021.20056, 17.011.30059-17.011.30152, or 17.011.30059-17.011.30155) and the application is used to open PDF files.
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 · scopedUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 2019.021.20056 and avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.
Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader DC version 2019.021.20057 or later, or the latest available release from Adobe
- 1. Verify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader version by navigating to Help > About (or Acrobat Reader > About for Reader)
- 2. Determine if the installed version falls within the affected ranges: 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30505, 15.008.20082 through 19.021.20056, 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30152, or 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30155
- 3. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC from the official Adobe website at get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat
- 4. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat/Reader before running the installer
- 5. Run the installer with administrator privileges
- 6. After installation completes, verify the new version is 2019.021.20057 or later (or the latest continuous/classic release available from Adobe)
- 7. Ensure Adobe products are updated by enabling automatic updates or checking for updates via Help > Check for Updates
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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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-16470 — 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-2019-16470 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