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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-21059

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2021-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 20.013.20074 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Acrobat Reader DC versions versions 2020.013.20074 (and earlier), 2020.001.30018 (and earlier) and 2017.011.30188 (and earlier) are affected by a Memory corruption vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted PDF file. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC when parsing specially crafted PDF files. An unauthenticated attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user by tricking a victim into opening a malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version. Until patched, instruct users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.

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
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30188>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.001.30018
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, <= 20.013.20074
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30188>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.001.30018
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, <= 20.013.20074

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 or Reader is installed
    Check for installation via registry key: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat, or look in Program Files for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader folders
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or classic) is found on the system
  2. Identify the installed product variant
    In the registry under the Adobe Acrobat key, check if a DC folder exists (indicates DC version) or look at the product name in Add/Remove Programs
    Affected if The installed product is Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader DC (any version)
  3. Retrieve the installed version number
    Run: powershell "(Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\InstallProperties').ProductVersion" or right-click the executable in Program Files and view Properties > Details
    Affected if A version number is returned that falls within the affected ranges listed in the CVE
  4. Compare version against affected ranges
    For classic (non-DC): check if version is between 17.011.30059-17.011.30188 OR between 20.001.30005-20.001.30018. For DC: check if version is between 15.008.20082-20.013.20074
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of the listed vulnerable ranges: classic: 17.011.30059-17.011.30188, 20.001.30005-20.001.30018; DC: 15.008.20082-20.013.20074
  5. Confirm the application can open PDF files
    Check if the PDF open action handler is associated with the installed Adobe application, or verify the Adobe PDF Shell Extension is registered
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is set as the default PDF handler or has the PDF shell extension active

If Adobe Acrobat or Reader DC (or classic) is installed and its version falls within the ranges 17.011.30059-17.011.30188, 20.001.30005-20.001.30018 (classic), or 15.008.20082-20.013.20074 (DC), the environment is affected by this 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 20.013.20074
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version. Until patched, instruct users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,880.

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-2021-21059 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