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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-44712

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 21.007.20099 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Access of Memory Location After End of Buffer vulnerability that could lead to application denial-of-service. 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 buffer over-read vulnerability where the software accesses memory locations beyond the end of an allocated buffer when parsing specially crafted PDF files, leading to application denial-of-service.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest version (21.007.20099+ for Continuous track, 20.004.30017+ for Classic track, 17.011.30204+ for 2017 track). 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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 installed Adobe product
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). The product name (Acrobat vs Reader) and track (Continuous, Classic, 2017) will be displayed in the title bar or about dialog.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (not standalone Adobe Reader).
  2. Determine exact version number
    In the About dialog, note the exact version number displayed (for example: 21.005.20093 or 20.004.30015). Record all three number groups.
    Affected if Version falls within ranges: 15.008.20082 to 21.007.20099, OR 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30204, OR 20.001.30005 to 20.004.30017.
  3. Identify the release track
    The version number indicates the track: versions starting with 21.x or 20.x are Continuous track; versions 17.x are Classic or 2017 track. Check Adobe's documentation or the about dialog for track confirmation.
    Affected if Any track with version in affected ranges.
  4. Confirm PDF processing is enabled
    Verify the software is configured to open PDF files. This is the default state. The vulnerability triggers when the software parses PDF content, so any system that opens PDF files with this software is potentially exposed.
    Affected if PDF files can be opened with the affected Adobe product (default configuration).

Your environment is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number matching the ranges: 15.008.20082-21.007.20099, 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

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest version (21.007.20099+ for Continuous track, 20.004.30017+ for Classic track, 17.011.30204+ for 2017 track). Avoid opening untrusted PDF files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 21.008.20080+ (Continuous) or 21.001.20093+ (Classic) | Acrobat/Reader 2017: 17.012.20098+ | Acrobat/Reader 2020: 20.005.30034+

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader on the affected system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or use the Help menu depending on your version)
  3. 3. Alternatively, download the latest security update directly from Adobe's official security bulletin page at helpx.adobe.com
  4. 4. Ensure you download version 21.008.20080 or later for Acrobat/Reader DC (Continuous track)
  5. 5. Ensure you download version 21.001.20093 or later for Acrobat/Reader DC (Classic track)
  6. 6. Ensure you download version 17.012.20098 or later for Acrobat/Reader 2017
  7. 7. Ensure you download version 20.005.30034 or later for Acrobat/Reader 2020
  8. 8. Restart the application after installation
Caveat Adobe security updates typically include only security fixes with minimal functional changes; standard upgrade risks apply (backup data, test critical workflows)

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
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2021-44712 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