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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2019-8257

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-01-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.006.30499 / 17.011.30144 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 2019.012.20035 and earlier, 2019.012.20035 and earlier, 2017.011.30142 and earlier, 2017.011.30143 and earlier, 2015.006.30497 and earlier, and 2015.006.30498 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

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted PDF files. The vulnerability stems from improper memory management where memory is accessed after being freed, potentially leading to code execution in the context of the current process.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest version beyond the affected releases (2019.012.20035 and earlier, 2017.011.30142/30143 and earlier, 2015.006.30497/30498 and earlier). Consider disabling JavaScript in Acrobat settings as an additional hardening measure until patches are applied.

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, < 15.006.30499>= 15.008.20082, < 19.012.20036>= 17.011.30059, < 17.011.30144
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30060, < 15.006.30499>= 15.008.20082, < 19.012.20036>= 17.011.30059, < 17.011.30144

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 Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then navigate to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) to view the product version. Alternatively, locate the application in the system program files and check the version properties of the executable.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed on the system
  2. Determine exact version number
    Record the full version number displayed in the About dialog. For Acrobat DC/Reader DC, this typically appears as a four-part number such as 19.x.x.x or 17.x.x.x.
    Affected if The version number is visible and can be compared against the affected ranges
  3. Compare against first affected range (15.006.30060 to 15.006.30499)
    Check if the installed version falls within 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30499 inclusive. Note that versions below 15.006.30060 are not affected.
    Affected if Installed version is greater than or equal to 15.006.30060 AND less than 15.006.30499
  4. Compare against second affected range (15.008.20082 to 19.012.20036)
    Check if the installed version falls within 15.008.20082 through 19.012.20036 inclusive. This covers both 2015 and 2019 track versions.
    Affected if Installed version is greater than or equal to 15.008.20082 AND less than 19.012.20036
  5. Compare against third affected range (17.011.30059 to 17.011.30144)
    Check if the installed version falls within 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30144 inclusive. This covers the 2017 track versions.
    Affected if Installed version is greater than or equal to 17.011.30059 AND less than 17.011.30144

If the installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version matches any of the three affected ranges (15.006.30060-15.006.30499, 15.008.20082-19.012.20036, or 17.011.30059-17.011.30144), the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2019-8257.

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 15.006.30499 / 17.011.30144 / 19.012.20036 or later
Fixed in 15.006.3049917.011.3014419.012.20036
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest version beyond the affected releases (2019.012.20035 and earlier, 2017.011.30142/30143 and earlier, 2015.006.30497/30498 and earlier). Consider disabling JavaScript in Acrobat settings as an additional hardening measure until patches are applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC 2019.012.20036 (or later); 2017.011.30144; 2015.006.30499

  1. 1. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
  2. 2. Back up any important PDF documents and preferences
  3. 3. Download the latest version from the official Adobe website at get.adobe.com/reader or helpx.adobe.com/acrobat
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
  5. 5. Restart the computer after installation completes
  6. 6. Verify the installed version by opening Acrobat/Reader and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat to confirm version 15.006.30499, 17.011.30144, or 19.012.20036 or later
Caveat Upgrade should preserve user settings; however, test critical workflows with existing PDF forms and scripts in a staging environment before broad deployment

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,220
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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-2019-8257 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