dbcve.org
Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2020-9606

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.006.30518 / 17.011.30166 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 2020.006.20042 and earlier, 2017.011.30166 and earlier, 2017.011.30166 and earlier, and 2015.006.30518 and earlier have an 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 vulnerability affects multiple older versions across three major release lines.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to versions newer than 2020.006.20042, 2017.011.30166, and 2015.006.30518 respectively. Organizations should prioritize patching given the high severity and potential for arbitrary 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 DC or Reader DC is installed
    Check the application's Help menu (Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader) or locate the application in the Windows Start menu or Mac Applications folder. Confirm the product name displays as 'Adobe Acrobat DC' or 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC'.
    Affected if The software is Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.
  2. Determine the exact installed version number
    In the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader. Note the version number displayed (format: XX.XXX.XXXXX, for example 20.006.20034). Alternatively, on Windows check the version in Programs and Features or the registry. On Mac, right-click the app in Applications and select Get Info.
    Affected if The version number cannot be determined or the product is not Acrobat/Reader DC.
  3. Compare against affected 2015 version range
    If the version starts with 15.x.x (such as 15.006.30060), verify it falls within the affected range: version >= 15.006.30060 AND version < 15.006.30518. Also check for versions 15.008.20082 and above up to but not including 20.006.20042.
    Affected if Version starts with 15.x.x and is >= 15.006.30060 but < 15.006.30518, OR is >= 15.008.20082 but < 20.006.20042.
  4. Compare against affected 2017 version range
    If the version starts with 17.x.x (such as 17.011.30059), verify it falls within the affected range: version >= 17.011.30059 AND version < 17.011.30166.
    Affected if Version starts with 17.x.x and is >= 17.011.30059 but < 17.011.30166.
  5. Confirm overall affected status
    If the installed version matches any of the three affected ranges (15.006.30060 to 15.006.30518, 15.008.20082 to 20.006.20041, or 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30165), the environment is vulnerable. Versions outside these ranges or products other than Acrobat/Reader DC are not affected by this CVE.
    Affected if The installed version falls into any of the three specified vulnerable ranges.

The environment is affected only if Adobe Acrobat DC or Reader DC is installed with a version matching one of the three vulnerable ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30518, 15.008.20082 to 20.006.20041, or 17.011.30059 to 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.

From vendor data
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 versions newer than 2020.006.20042, 2017.011.30166, and 2015.006.30518 respectively. Organizations should prioritize patching given the high severity and potential for arbitrary code execution.

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-9606 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2020-9606 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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