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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-44741

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 Null pointer dereference vulnerability when parsing a specially crafted file. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve an application denial-of-service 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 null pointer dereference vulnerability when parsing specially crafted PDF files. An unauthenticated attacker can trigger the vulnerability by tricking a user into opening a malicious PDF, causing the application to crash and resulting in denial-of-service.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version (21.007.20099+, 20.004.30017+, or 17.011.30204+) and exercise caution when opening PDF files from untrusted 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. Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader installation
    Check for Adobe Acrobat/Reader installation via Windows Programs and Features, or locate the executable (Acrobat.exe or AcroRd32.exe) in Program Files
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed on the system
  2. Determine installed product version
    Open Adobe Acrobat/Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat) to display the version number
    Affected if The displayed version falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082 through 21.007.20099, 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30204, or 20.001.30005 through 20.004.30017
  3. Confirm vulnerability trigger condition
    The flaw is triggered when a user opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file - no specific configuration or feature needs to be enabled
    Affected if The installed version is within the affected ranges AND the user opens PDF files from untrusted sources

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version number between the specified minimum and maximum values for their product line, as listed in the affected products and versions.

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 (21.007.20099+, 20.004.30017+, or 17.011.30204+) and exercise caution when opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader DC 21.008.20092 (or latest available); Adobe Acrobat/Reader Classic 2020 (20.005.x or later); Adobe Acrobat/Reader Classic 2017 (17.012.x or later)

  1. 1. Verify the current Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat DC).
  2. 2. Close all Adobe Acrobat/Reader applications completely.
  3. 3. Navigate to the official Adobe download page: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat).
  4. 4. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC.
  5. 5. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation.
  6. 6. After installation, verify the version has updated to 21.008.20092 or later for DC versions, or the equivalent latest release for Classic and 17.x versions.
Caveat Standard upgrade - minimal risk; ensure compatibility with existing workflows and plugins before deploying enterprise-wide

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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-2021-44741 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