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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-28644

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 17.011.30199 / 20.004.30006 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 2021.005.20054 (and earlier), 2020.004.30005 (and earlier) and 2017.011.30197 (and earlier) are affected by a Path traversal 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

A path traversal vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC allows unauthenticated attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution through malicious files. Exploitation requires victim interaction to open a specially crafted file, with the attack running in the context of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to a version later than 2021.005.20054, 2020.004.30005, or 2017.011.30197 as applicable for your release track.

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:>= 17.011.30180, < 17.011.30199>= 20.001.30005, < 20.004.30006
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.007.20033, < 21.005.20058
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30180, < 17.011.30199>= 20.001.30005, < 20.004.30006
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.007.20033, < 21.005.20058

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. Identify the installed Adobe product and release track
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Note whether it says 'Acrobat' or 'Reader', and whether it indicates Classic or Continuous release track.
    Affected if Any version of Adobe Acrobat or Reader DC installed on the system.
  2. Locate the installed version number
    In the About dialog, record the exact version number displayed (for example: 2021.005.20054, 20.004.30006, 15.007.20033, or 17.011.30180).
    Affected if Version number is visible in the application.
  3. Compare against Adobe Classic (17.x) affected range
    If the version starts with 17.x (Classic 2017 track), check if it is >= 17.011.30180 and < 17.011.30199. For Reader, this would be 17.011.30180 through 17.011.30198.
    Affected if Version is 17.011.30180 through 17.011.30198 (any subversion below 17.011.30199).
  4. Compare against Adobe Continuous (20.x) affected range
    If the version starts with 20.x (Continuous 2020 track), check if it is >= 20.001.30005 and < 20.004.30006. For Reader, this would be 20.001.30005 through 20.004.30005.
    Affected if Version is 20.001.30005 through 20.004.30005 (any subversion below 20.004.30006).
  5. Compare against Adobe DC (15.x and 21.x) affected range
    If the product name includes 'DC' and version starts with 15.x or 21.x, check if it is >= 15.007.20033 and < 21.005.20058. For Reader DC, this includes versions 15.007.20033 through 21.005.20057.
    Affected if Version is 15.007.20033 through 21.005.20057 (any subversion below 21.005.20058 for DC track).

You are affected if your installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version (matching your specific product and release track) falls within any of the vulnerable ranges: 17.011.30180-17.011.30198, 20.001.30005-20.004.30005, or 15.007.20033-21.005.20057.

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 17.011.30199 / 20.004.30006 / 21.005.20058 or later
Fixed in 17.011.3019920.004.3000621.005.20058
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to a version later than 2021.005.20054, 2020.004.30005, or 2017.011.30197 as applicable for your release track.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 17.011.30199 or later (Classic 2017 track), 20.004.30006 or later (Classic 2020 track), or 21.005.20058 or later (Continuous track)

  1. 1. Verify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader)
  2. 2. Close all Adobe Acrobat/Reader instances to ensure safe updating
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader from the official Adobe website at get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat
  4. 4. Run the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
  5. 5. After installation, restart the computer if prompted
  6. 6. Verify the updated version by checking Help > About to confirm the version number matches or exceeds the fixed release: 17.011.30199+, 20.004.30006+, or 21.005.20058+
  7. 7. Ensure users are warned not to open suspicious PDF files from untrusted sources
Caveat Standard minor version upgrade; no major configuration changes expected. Ensure compatibility with any existing PDF workflows or plugins.

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

Fix this in Acrobat 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
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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-2021-28644 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