CVE-2020-9598
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 2020.006.20042 and earlier, 2017.011.30166 and earlier, 2017.011.30166 and earlier, and 2015.006.30518 and earlier have an invalid memory access vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to information disclosure.
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 · moderate confidenceInvalid memory access vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader allowing information disclosure. The vulnerability exists in multiple older versions across three major release tracks (2020, 2017, 2015), indicating a long-standing code defect potentially involving improper bounds checking or use-after-free conditions during PDF processing.
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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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.
-
Identify installed Adobe productOpen Adobe Acrobat or Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader). Alternatively, locate the executable (acro32.exe or acro64.exe) in the program directory and view its file properties to see the version.Affected if The installed product is Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.
-
Determine the installed version numberNote the full version number shown in the About dialog or file properties. The version will appear as a four-part number such as 15.x.x.x, 17.x.x.x, or 20.x.x.x.Affected if A version number is displayed that matches the Adobe Acrobat Dc or Acrobat Reader Dc product line.
-
Compare version against affected rangesCheck if the installed version falls within any of these ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30518 (inclusive of lower bound, exclusive of upper); 15.008.20082 to 20.006.20042; or 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30166.Affected if The installed version is greater than or equal to 15.006.30060 and less than 15.006.30518, OR greater than or equal to 15.008.20082 and less than 20.006.20042, OR greater than or equal to 17.011.30059 and less than 17.011.30166.
-
Confirm the vulnerability trigger conditionThe vulnerability is triggered during PDF document processing. While no specific feature needs to be enabled, the flaw is in the PDF processing engine and occurs when handling malformed or crafted PDF content.Affected if The affected version is installed and the application is used to open or process PDF documents.
A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader DC is installed with a version number matching any of the three vulnerable ranges listed in the CVE.
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 data15.006.3051817.011.3016620.006.20042
Apply vendor-supplied patches by updating Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest version. Until patched, restrict handling of untrusted PDF documents and monitor Adobe security advisories.
- Consultation1.0 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 $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-9598 — 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-2020-9598 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