dbcve.org
Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2020-9697

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-08-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 20.009.20074 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

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 2020.009.20074 and earlier, 2020.001.30002, 2017.011.30171 and earlier, and 2015.006.30523 and earlier have a disclosure of sensitive data vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to memory leak.

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 sensitive data disclosure vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat and Reader leading to memory leak. The vulnerability has a CVSS base score of 5.5 with high confidentiality impact (C:H), low integrity impact (I:N), and no availability impact (A:N). It affects multiple older versions across the 2015, 2017, and 2020 product lines.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions beyond 2020.009.20074, 2020.001.30002, 2017.011.30171, and 2015.006.30523. Apply the official Adobe security updates to remediate the memory leak and sensitive data disclosure.

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, <= 15.006.30523>= 15.008.20082, <= 20.009.20074>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30171= 20.001.30002
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30523>= 15.008.20082, <= 20.009.20074>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30171= 20.001.30002

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or macOS Applications folder. Look for 'Adobe Acrobat DC', 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC', or similar Adobe PDF products.
    Affected if Either Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is present on the system
  2. Retrieve the installed version number in Windows
    Right-click the Adobe application in Programs and Features, select Properties, and view the Version field. Alternatively, open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat DC (or Reader).
    Affected if The version displayed does not match the patched versions (2020.009.20074, 2020.001.30002, 2017.011.30171, or 2015.006.30523 or later)
  3. Check Windows registry for version details
    Open regedit and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version (or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Reader\DC\Version for Reader). Read the Version value.
    Affected if The version value falls within any of these vulnerable ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30523, 15.008.20082 to 20.009.20074, 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30171, or equals exactly 20.001.30002
  4. Verify the product track (Classic vs Continuous)
    In the registry path above, check for a 'Release' or 'FeatureRelease' value. Classic track versions typically start with 15.xx or 17.xx, while Continuous track versions start with 20.xx.
    Affected if The installed version is on the Classic track (15.xx or 17.xx) within the affected ranges, or on the Continuous track (20.xx) matching the vulnerable versions listed

A system is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC or Reader DC is installed with a version number matching any of the vulnerable ranges: 15.006.30060-15.006.30523, 15.008.20082-20.009.20074, 17.011.30059-17.011.30171, or exactly 20.001.30002.

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 a release after 20.009.20074
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest patched versions beyond 2020.009.20074, 2020.001.30002, 2017.011.30171, and 2015.006.30523. Apply the official Adobe security updates to remediate the memory leak and sensitive data disclosure.

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-9697 — 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-2020-9697 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