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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-44713

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 a use-after-free vulnerability in the processing of Format event actions that could result in 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

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC when processing Format event actions within PDF files. During event handling, the application frees memory that it continues to reference later, causing the application to crash and result in denial of service. Exploitation requires a victim to open a specially crafted malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest version (21.009.20074 or later for the 21.x branch, 20.005.30018 or later for 20.x, and 17.011.30266 or later for 17.x). Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources.

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 Acrobat product
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat DC) to view the exact version number. Alternatively, locate the application in Control Panel > Programs and Features.
    Affected if Product is Adobe Acrobat or Reader DC, or Adobe Acrobat/Reader (classic) within the listed version ranges
  2. Compare version to affected ranges
    Match your installed version number against these ranges: DC versions 15.008.20082 through 21.007.20099 are affected. Classic versions 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30204 OR 20.001.30005 through 20.004.30017 are affected. Check if your version falls within any of these ranges.
    Affected if Installed version falls within any of the specified version ranges (inclusive)
  3. Assess PDF handling exposure
    Determine if the system regularly opens PDF files from external or untrusted sources. Check recent PDF file access history or review email attachments, downloaded files, or network shares that may contain unvetted PDF documents.
    Affected if Users routinely open PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources without prior validation
  4. Check for Format event action usage
    This vulnerability specifically triggers when processing Format event actions within PDF files. There is no built-in command to detect if a PDF contains malicious Format event actions; the risk is inherent to opening untrusted PDF files with affected versions.
    Affected if The system uses affected versions AND opens PDF files from untrusted sources (the exploit is triggered upon opening a specially crafted PDF)

A user is affected if they are running any Adobe Acrobat or Reader version within the specified ranges AND they open PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources, as exploitation requires opening a specially crafted malicious PDF containing Format event actions.

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 (21.009.20074 or later for the 21.x branch, 20.005.30018 or later for 20.x, and 17.011.30266 or later for 17.x). Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Acrobat Reader DC / Acrobat DC version 21.008.300xx or later; or version 20.005.300xx or later; or version 18.001.300xx or later (exact version numbers available in Adobe security bulletin APSB21-55)

  1. 1. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
  2. 2. Navigate to the Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat official download page at helpx.adobe.com
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
  5. 5. Restart your computer if prompted
  6. 6. Verify the installation by opening Adobe Acrobat/Reader and checking the version number under Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Help > About Adobe Acrobat
Caveat Standard security update - no major feature changes expected for patch releases

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
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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-2021-44713 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