CVE-2019-16471
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 Use After Free 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 confidenceAdobe Acrobat Reader contains a Use After Free vulnerability where the application continues to use a memory pointer after it has been freed, allowing arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user 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 installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader versionOpen the application and navigate to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) to display the version number, or check the installed programs list in Windows Control PanelAffected if The installed version falls within any of 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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Confirm product is Adobe Acrobat or Reader DCVerify the installed product is Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (Classic or Continuous track)Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC with a version matching the affected ranges above
Your environment is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader DC is installed with a version number within the listed vulnerable ranges.
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. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.
Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2019.021.20058 or later (or the latest available 2019.x, 2020.x, or Continuous track release)
- Verify the current Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat)
- Download the latest security update from the official Adobe website or through your organization's patch management system
- Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat/Reader
- Install the security update by running the downloaded installer
- Restart the application and confirm the version has been updated to a release newer than 2019.021.20056
- Verify that the update was successful by checking Help > About again
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-2019-16471 — 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-2019-16471 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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