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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2020-3799

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 stack-based buffer overflow 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

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2020.006.20034 and earlier, 2017.011.30158 and earlier, and 2015.006.30510 and earlier. The overflow occurs when the software processes specially crafted PDF files, allowing an attacker to overwrite stack memory and achieve arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched version provided by Adobe. Prioritize patching for systems that handle untrusted PDF documents, as exploitation occurs through malicious PDF files.

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 is installed
    On Windows, check for Adobe Acrobat in Program Files or Program Files (x86), or look for Acrobat/Reader in the list of installed programs via Control Panel > Programs and Features. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc is installed
  2. Find installed version number
    In Windows, right-click the Adobe Acrobat/Reader executable (e.g., AcroRd32.exe or AcroPro.exe), select Properties, and check the Details tab for Product Version. Alternatively, open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader.
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or is in an older release family
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Compare your installed version to these affected ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30518, 15.008.20082 to 20.006.20042, and 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30166. Also consider the legacy version families: 2020.006.20034 and earlier, 2017.011.30158 and earlier, 2015.006.30510 and earlier.
    Affected if Your installed version falls within or below any of these ranges: < 15.006.30518, < 20.006.20042, < 17.011.30166, or <= 2020.006.20034, <= 2017.011.30158, <= 2015.006.30510
  4. Confirm the software processes PDF files
    This vulnerability is triggered when the software processes specially crafted PDF files. Verify that Adobe Acrobat or Reader is configured as a default PDF handler or is used to open PDF documents.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is used to open or process PDF documents from untrusted sources

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc is installed and the installed version falls within any of the affected version ranges (15.006.30060 to 15.006.30518, 15.008.20082 to 20.006.20042, 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30166, or older family versions).

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

Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched version provided by Adobe. Prioritize patching for systems that handle untrusted PDF documents, as exploitation occurs through malicious PDF files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2020.006.20042+ (or 2017.011.30166+ for 2017 line, or 15.006.30518+ for 2015 line)

  1. 1. Identify the installed Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader version by opening the application, clicking Help > About (or pressing Ctrl+Shift+J in some versions)
  2. 2. For Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2020.x (version 20.xxx): Upgrade to version 20.006.20042 or later
  3. 3. For Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2017.x (version 17.xxx): Upgrade to version 17.011.30166 or later
  4. 4. For Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2015.x (version 15.xxx): Upgrade to version 15.006.30518 or later
  5. 5. Download the appropriate updated version from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/reader for Reader, or adobe.com for Acrobat)
  6. 6. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat/Reader before running the installer
  7. 7. Install the update and restart the application
Caveat Standard Adobe update - no major breaking changes expected; ensure backup of important PDFs before updating

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2020-3799 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