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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2020-3792

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.006.30518 / 17.011.30166 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 2020.006.20034 and earlier, 2017.011.30158 and earlier, 2017.011.30158 and earlier, 2015.006.30510 and earlier, and 2015.006.30510 and earlier have a 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

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader. Use-after-free flaws occur when a program continues to use a pointer to memory after it has been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to manipulate memory and achieve arbitrary code execution. The CVSS 9.8 indicates the vulnerability is network-exploitable with no authentication required and complete impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

MitigationImmediately update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched version beyond 2020.006.20034, 2017.011.30158, and 2015.006.30510. Prioritize rapid deployment given the critical severity and potential for remote code execution.

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, < 15.006.30518>= 15.008.20082, < 20.006.20042>= 17.011.30059, < 17.011.30166
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30060, < 15.006.30518>= 15.008.20082, < 20.006.20042>= 17.011.30059, < 17.011.30166

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 DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. Click Help > About Adobe Acrobat DC (or Reader) to display the exact version number. Alternatively, on Windows, check Add/Remove Programs or the application's executable properties.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC and the version falls within the affected ranges.
  2. Compare version against first affected range
    Note the full version number (for example, 15.006.30060). Check if it is greater than or equal to 15.006.30060 AND less than 15.006.30518.
    Affected if Version is 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30517.
  3. Compare version against second affected range
    Note the full version number. Check if it is greater than or equal to 15.008.20082 AND less than 20.006.20042.
    Affected if Version is 15.008.20082 through 20.006.20041.
  4. Compare version against third affected range
    Note the full version number. Check if it is greater than or equal to 17.011.30059 AND less than 17.011.30166.
    Affected if Version is 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30165.
  5. Confirm vulnerability trigger condition
    This use-after-free vulnerability is triggered during PDF parsing operations. No specific feature or configuration needs to be enabled; opening a specially crafted PDF file can trigger the flaw.
    Affected if A vulnerable version is installed and the user opens or processes a malicious PDF file.

The environment is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed with a version matching any of the three vulnerable ranges (15.006.30060-15.006.30517, 15.008.20082-20.006.20041, or 17.011.30059-17.011.30165).

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 15.006.30518 / 17.011.30166 / 20.006.20042 or later
Fixed in 15.006.3051817.011.3016620.006.20042
Interim mitigation

Immediately update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched version beyond 2020.006.20034, 2017.011.30158, and 2015.006.30510. Prioritize rapid deployment given the critical severity and potential for remote code execution.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2015 version 15.006.30518 or later; 2017 version 17.011.30166 or later; 2020 version 20.006.20042 or later (or latest available)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates or use the built-in update mechanism
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for and install available updates
  4. 4. Alternatively, download the latest version from the official Adobe website at get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat
  5. 5. Restart the application after updates are installed
  6. 6. Verify the version by checking Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
Caveat Standard Adobe update considerations - verify compatibility with any third-party plugins or integrated systems before deploying enterprise-wide

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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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-2020-3792 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