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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-44705

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 21.007.20099 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 version 21.007.20099 (and earlier), 20.004.30017 (and earlier) and 17.011.30204 (and earlier) are affected by a use-after-free vulnerability in the processing of Format event actions that could result in 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

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC contains a use-after-free vulnerability in its processing of Format event actions. When handling these PDF events, the software improperly manages memory lifecycle, allowing freed memory to be accessed after deallocation. This memory corruption can be leveraged by a malicious PDF file to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.

MitigationOrganizations should deploy the official Adobe security updates to all affected Acrobat Reader DC installations (21.007.20099 and earlier, 20.004.30017 and earlier, 17.011.30204 and earlier) and remind 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, <= 21.007.20099
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, <= 21.007.20099
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30204>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.004.30017
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30204>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.004.30017

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. Check if Adobe Acrobat or Reader DC is installed
    Open Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat\InstallKeys, or run: wmic product get name,version | findstr /i "acrobat"
    Affected if No Adobe Acrobat or Reader product is found (not affected)
  2. Determine the exact installed version
    For Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC: check the version in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Installer\InstallVersion, or right-click the file Acrobat.exe in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Acrobat\ and select Properties > Details
    Affected if Unable to determine version (unknown status)
  3. Compare DC version to affected range
    If version starts with 21.x, check if it is <= 21.007.20099. If version starts with 15.x, check if it is >= 15.008.20082 and <= 15.008.20082. The entire 15.x.20082 through 21.007.20099 range is affected for DC products.
    Affected if Version falls between 15.008.20082 and 21.007.20099 inclusive
  4. Check Classic versions (17.x and 20.x) if applicable
    For Adobe Acrobat/Reader (Classic versions 17.x and 20.x), check if the version is between 17.011.30059 and 17.011.30204 inclusive, OR between 20.001.30005 and 20.004.30017 inclusive
    Affected if Version falls within either the 17.011.30059-17.011.30204 range or the 20.001.30005-20.004.30017 range

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat is installed with a version number matching any of the vulnerable ranges: 15.008.20082-21.007.20099 (DC), 17.011.30059-17.011.30204, or 20.001.30005-20.004.30017.

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 21.007.20099
Interim mitigation

Organizations should deploy the official Adobe security updates to all affected Acrobat Reader DC installations (21.007.20099 and earlier, 20.004.30017 and earlier, 17.011.30204 and earlier) and remind users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat Reader DC 21.008.20100 or later; Acrobat DC 21.008.20100 or later (or respective later versions in 20.x and 17.x tracks)

  1. 1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat/Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat DC)
  2. 2. For Acrobat Reader DC: Download and install the latest version from the official Adobe website at get.adobe.com/reader
  3. 3. For Acrobat DC: Download and install the latest version from the official Adobe website at get.adobe.com/acrobat
  4. 4. Alternatively, use Adobe's automatic update feature: Help > Check for Updates
  5. 5. Ensure the installed version is higher than 21.007.20099 (for DC versions) or 20.004.30017/17.011.30204 (for classic versions)
  6. 6. Restart the application after update installation
  7. 7. Verify the update was successful by checking the version number again
Caveat Standard user-level upgrade with minimal risk; may require acceptance of new license terms

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2021-44705 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