CVE-2020-3807
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 · uneditedAdobe 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 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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader allows attackers to overwrite memory boundaries, potentially executing arbitrary code. This critical flaw affects multiple older versions of both products across the 2015, 2017, and 2020 release lines.
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>= 15.006.30060, < 15.006.30518>= 15.008.20082, < 20.006.20042>= 17.011.30059, < 17.011.30166>= 15.006.30060, < 15.006.30518>= 15.008.20082, < 20.006.20042>= 17.011.30059, < 17.011.30166CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installedCheck for the presence of Acrobat or Reader executables: look for AcroRd32.exe, AcroDist.exe, or similar in Program Files, or check the Windows Start menu for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader entries.Affected if Either Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc is installed on the system.
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Locate the installed versionOn Windows, right-click the Adobe Acrobat or Reader executable (typically in C:\Program Files\Adobe\), select Properties, and view the Version tab. Alternatively, open the application and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) to display the full version number.Affected if A version number is displayed that matches the pattern shown in the affected version ranges.
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Compare against affected version rangesRecord the full version number (for example, 15.006.304xx or 17.011.300xx) and compare it to these ranges: 15.006.30060 through 15.006.30517; 15.008.20082 through 20.006.20041; 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30165.Affected if The installed version falls within any of the three affected ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30517, 15.008.20082 to 20.006.20041, or 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30165.
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Verify the product is Adobe Acrobat Dc or Reader DcConfirm from the installation or About dialog that the product is either Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc (the Classic version numbers 15.x and 17.x indicate the Classic track).Affected if The installed product is Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc within the affected version ranges.
If Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc is installed and its version falls within any of the specified ranges (15.006.30060-15.006.30517, 15.008.20082-20.006.20041, or 17.011.30059-17.011.30165), the environment is affected by this buffer overflow vulnerability.
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.
dbcve · scoped15.006.3051817.011.3016620.006.20042
Upgrade Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest version to patch the buffer overflow vulnerability.
20.006.20042 (2020 track), 17.011.30166 (2017 track), or 15.006.30518 (2015 track) depending on your version branch
- 1. Determine the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat).
- 2. Identify which version branch your installation belongs to: Classic 2015 track (15.x), Classic 2017 track (17.x), or 2020 track (20.x).
- 3. For the 2020 track (versions 2020.006.20034 and earlier): Upgrade to version 20.006.20042 or later.
- 4. For the 2017 track (versions 2017.011.30158 and earlier): Upgrade to version 17.011.30166 or later.
- 5. For the 2015 track (versions 2015.006.30510 and earlier): Upgrade to version 15.006.30518 or later.
- 6. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Adobe website at helpx.adobe.com or through your organization's software distribution channel.
- 7. Close all Adobe Acrobat/Reader instances and any applications that may have open PDF documents.
- 8. Run the installer for the upgraded version and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-3807 — 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-2020-3807 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
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- 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
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