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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-44711

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 an Integer Overflow or Wraparound vulnerability 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

This is an integer overflow vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC where improper input validation during PDF parsing causes an integer to overflow its allocated range. The overflow can lead to heap-based buffer overflows, allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code by tricking a user into opening a maliciously crafted PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and enable Adobe's Protected View or sandbox features.

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 is installed
    On Windows, check Program Files for Adobe folders, or use Control Panel > Programs and Features. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version number
    Open Adobe Acrobat/Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Alternatively, right-click the executable in Program Files and select Properties > Details to view the File Version.
    Affected if A version number is displayed that falls within the affected ranges
  3. Compare installed version to affected ranges
    Match your installed version against these ranges: Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 15.008.20082 through 21.007.20099; Acrobat/Reader 17.x: 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30204; Acrobat/Reader 20.x: 20.001.30005 through 20.004.30017
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges, indicating the vulnerable version is present
  4. Confirm PDF handling is the primary function
    Verify the installed software is used for opening PDF files. This is the default functionality of both Acrobat and Reader products.
    Affected if The software is configured to open PDF files, which enables the vulnerable PDF parsing code path

If Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed and the version falls within the ranges 15.008.20082-21.007.20099 (DC products), 17.011.30059-17.011.30204 (17.x products), or 20.001.30005-20.004.30017 (20.x products), the environment is affected by this vulnerability when opening PDF files.

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

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and enable Adobe's Protected View or sandbox features.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe Acrobat DC and Reader DC versions 21.008.20092 and later; Classic versions 20.005.30019 and later, 17.012.30093 and later

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader
  2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates or Help > About Adobe Acrobat
  3. Allow the application to check for and install the latest updates
  4. Alternatively, download the latest version from the official Adobe website: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
  5. Restart the application after updates are installed
  6. Verify the version by going to Help > About and confirm the version is newer than 21.007.20099, 20.004.30017, or 17.011.30204 depending on your product line
Caveat Users on very old systems may need to ensure OS compatibility; some legacy features may be deprecated in newer versions

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
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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-2021-44711 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