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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-28632

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 21.001.20155 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 2021.001.20155 (and earlier), 2020.001.30025 (and earlier) and 2017.011.30196 (and earlier) are affected by an Use After Free vulnerability. 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

Use After Free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC allows arbitrary code execution when victim opens a malicious PDF file. The vulnerability affects versions 2021.001.20155 and earlier, 2020.001.30025 and earlier, and 2017.011.30196 and earlier.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version beyond the affected releases. Deploy updates via enterprise patch management and educate users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files.

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:>= 15.008.20082, <= 21.001.20155
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, <= 21.001.20155
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30180, <= 17.011.30196>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.001.30025
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30180, <= 17.011.30196>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.001.30025

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:3.1/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 installation
    Check for installed Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC on the system. On Windows, examine the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, or look in Program Files for Adobe folders.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed
  2. Determine installed version
    Retrieve the version number from the registry key or from the executable properties of AcroRd32.exe (Reader) or AcroEdit.exe (Acrobat) typically found in the installation directory.
    Affected if The version falls within these ranges: 15.008.20082 to 21.001.20155 (DC versions), 17.011.30180 to 17.011.30196, or 20.001.30005 to 20.001.30025 (classic versions)
  3. Confirm vulnerability trigger condition
    The vulnerability is triggered when a user opens a maliciously crafted PDF file. Verify whether users routinely open PDF files from untrusted sources.
    Affected if A vulnerable version is installed AND the application is used to open PDF files, particularly from untrusted sources

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat is installed with a version between 15.008.20082 and 21.001.20155 (DC), between 17.011.30180 and 17.011.30196, or between 20.001.30005 and 20.001.30025 (classic), and the application is used to open PDF documents.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 21.001.20155
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version beyond the affected releases. Deploy updates via enterprise patch management and educate users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 2021.001.20160+ or 2020.001.30026+ or 2017.011.30197+ (depending on version track)

  1. 1. Determine the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About (or Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader)
  2. 2. Identify which version track your installation belongs to (2021, 2020, or 2017) based on the version number
  3. 3. If running version 2021.x.x, upgrade to version 2021.001.20160 or later
  4. 4. If running version 2020.x.x, upgrade to version 2020.001.30026 or later
  5. 5. If running version 2017.x.x, upgrade to version 2017.011.30197 or later
  6. 6. Download the appropriate updated version from the official Adobe website at adobe.com or through your organization's software distribution channel
  7. 7. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat/Reader before running the installer
  8. 8. Install the security update and restart the application
Caveat Upgrade to a newer major version may introduce UI changes; ensure compatibility with existing workflows and plugins

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.

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-2021-28632 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