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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2020-3793

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

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader allowing arbitrary code execution via maliciously crafted PDF files. The vulnerability exists in versions 2020.006.20034 and earlier, 2017.011.30158 and earlier, and 2015.006.30510 and earlier.

MitigationApply Adobe security patches (2020.006.20042, 2017.011.30166, and 2015.006.30518 or later) to all affected Acrobat and Reader installations; prioritize internet-facing and frequently-used systems given the critical severity.

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. Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader installation
    Check Add/Remove Programs (Windows) or Applications folder (Mac) for Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
    Affected if Either product is present on the system
  2. Find the exact version number
    Open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader, or on Windows run: wmic product where "name like 'Adobe Acrobat%'" get version
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or is older than the listed affected versions
  3. Compare against first affected range (15.006.30060 to 15.006.30517)
    Check if your version starts with 15.006 and falls between 15.006.30060 and 15.006.30517 inclusive
    Affected if Version matches this pattern and is less than 15.006.30518
  4. Compare against second affected range (15.008.20082 to 20.006.20041)
    Check if your version starts with 15.008 or 20.006 and falls between 15.008.20082 and 20.006.20041 inclusive
    Affected if Version matches this pattern and is less than 20.006.20042
  5. Compare against third affected range (17.011.30059 to 17.011.30165)
    Check if your version starts with 17.011 and falls between 17.011.30059 and 17.011.30165 inclusive
    Affected if Version matches this pattern and is less than 17.011.30166

The system is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Reader DC is installed and the version falls within 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

Apply Adobe security patches (2020.006.20042, 2017.011.30166, and 2015.006.30518 or later) to all affected Acrobat and Reader installations; prioritize internet-facing and frequently-used systems given the critical severity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC version 15.006.30518, 20.006.20042, or 17.011.30166 (or later corresponding to your release track)

  1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version via Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
  2. For versions 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30517, upgrade to version 15.006.30518 or later
  3. For versions 15.008.20082 through 20.006.20041, upgrade to version 20.006.20042 or later
  4. For versions 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30165, upgrade to version 17.011.30166 or later
  5. Download the latest version from the Adobe Acrobat download page or use the built-in Help > Check for Updates feature
  6. Restart the application after installation
Caveat Standard Adobe update - review release notes for minor feature changes; security update recommended regardless

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
27.0 hours of engineering $4,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,680.

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-2020-3793 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