CVE-2020-24429
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 · uneditedAcrobat Reader DC versions 2020.012.20048 (and earlier), 2020.001.30005 (and earlier) and 2017.011.30175 (and earlier) for macOS are affected by a signature verification bypass that could result in local privilege escalation. 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 DC for macOS contains a signature verification bypass vulnerability that allows local privilege escalation. An attacker can craft a malicious PDF file that bypasses code signature validation, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges. The attack requires user interaction in that the victim must open the malicious 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<= 20.001.30005<= 17.011.30175<= 20.012.20048<= 20.001.30005<= 17.011.30175<= 20.012.20048CVSS 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.
-
Check if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installedRun: ls /Applications/ | grep -i adobeAffected if No Adobe Acrobat or Reader application is found in /Applications, the user is not affected by this specific vulnerability.
-
Identify the exact product name and versionRun: mdls -name kCFBundleIdentifier -name kCFBundleVersionString /Applications/Adobe\ Acrobat\ Reader\ DC.app/ (or adjust path for Adobe Acrobat DC)Affected if The product name matches Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader, or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC and the version number falls within the affected ranges.
-
Compare installed version against vulnerable rangesFor Adobe Acrobat/Reader (2020.x): compare to 20.001.30005. For Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC (2017.x): compare to 17.011.30175. For Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC (2020.x): compare to 20.012.20048.Affected if The installed version is less than or equal to 20.001.30005 (2020.x), less than or equal to 17.011.30175 (2017.x), or less than or equal to 20.012.20048 (2020.x DC).
-
Confirm macOS platformRun: sw_vers or uname -a to verify the operating systemAffected if This vulnerability specifically affects macOS. If the system is Windows or Linux, the user is not affected by this specific CVE.
If Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed on macOS and the version falls within the affected ranges (2020.x <= 20.001.30005, 2017.x <= 17.011.30175, or 2020.x DC <= 20.012.20048), the environment is vulnerable and the user could be affected by opening a malicious PDF file.
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.
From vendor dataUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to a version newer than 2020.012.20048 (2020.x), 2020.001.30005 (2020.x), or 2017.011.30175 (2017.x). Until patched, advise users not to open PDF files from untrusted sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-24429 — 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-2020-24429 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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