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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2020-9702

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 stack exhaustion vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to application denial-of-service.

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 exhaustion vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat and Reader that allows attackers to cause excessive stack consumption, leading to application denial-of-service. The vulnerability affects multiple version branches across 2015, 2017, and 2020 releases.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the latest versions provided by Adobe's security updates to patch the stack exhaustion vulnerability.

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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
    Open Windows Control Panel, go to Programs and Features, and look for Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC in the installed software list. Alternatively, check the Start menu for Adobe Acrobat or Reader shortcuts.
    Affected if Either Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is present on the system
  2. Determine the exact installed version
    Right-click the Adobe application shortcut and select Properties, then look at the version field in the General tab. Or open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader to view the full version number.
    Affected if The version number displayed matches one of the affected version ranges: 15.006.30060 to 15.006.30523, 15.008.20082 to 20.009.20074, 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30171, or exactly 20.001.30002
  3. Identify the product release track
    In the About dialog, note whether the product is labeled as Adobe Acrobat DC (Continuous) or Adobe Acrobat 2015/2017/2020 (Classic). The version number prefix indicates the release track.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC with a version falling within the affected ranges listed above
  4. Compare version against all affected ranges
    Document the full version number (for example: 20.001.30002, 17.011.30145, 15.008.20200) and cross-reference against each affected range: 15.006.30060-15.006.30523, 15.008.20082-20.009.20074, 17.011.30059-17.011.30171, and exact version 20.001.30002.
    Affected if The installed version falls within ANY of these ranges or matches the exact version 20.001.30002

If Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed and the version falls within or matches any of the specified ranges (15.006.30060-15.006.30523, 15.008.20082-20.009.20074, 17.011.30059-17.011.30171, or 20.001.30002), the environment is affected by this stack exhaustion vulnerability.

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 versions provided by Adobe's security updates to patch the stack exhaustion vulnerability.

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

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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-2020-9702 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