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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-44742

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 out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing a crafted file, which could result in a read past the end of an allocated memory structure. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to execute code 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 an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing specially crafted PDF files. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of allocated memory structures, potentially exposing sensitive data or enabling code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires user interaction to open a malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unverified 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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Check for the application in the installed programs list (Windows Settings > Apps & features, or macOS Applications folder). Look for 'Adobe Acrobat DC', 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC', 'Adobe Acrobat', or 'Adobe Acrobat Reader'.
    Affected if The product is not listed or is completely uninstalled, then the user is not affected by this vulnerability through that product.
  2. Determine the exact version number of Adobe Acrobat DC or Reader DC
    On Windows, right-click the executable (Acrobat.exe or AcroRd32.exe) in the program directory, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the 'Product version'. Alternatively, open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat DC (or Reader DC). On macOS, right-click the app in Applications, select Get Info, and check the version under the version number field.
    Affected if The installed version falls within the ranges 15.008.20082 through 21.007.20099 for DC products.
  3. Determine the exact version number of Adobe Acrobat or Reader (classic)
    On Windows, right-click the executable (Acrobat.exe or AcroRd32.exe), select Properties, and check the Product version in the Details tab. Alternatively, open the application and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader).
    Affected if The installed version falls within the ranges 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30204, or 20.001.30005 through 20.004.30017 for classic products.
  4. Verify the PDF parsing component is present
    Confirm the core PDF parsing DLLs (such as AcroPDF.dll or the main executable) exist in the program directory. This component handles PDF file parsing and is required for the vulnerability to be triggerable.
    Affected if The PDF parsing component is present and the version is in the affected ranges, the environment is vulnerable when opening specially crafted PDF files.

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number within the specified vulnerable ranges and the application is used to open 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. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unverified sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Latest stable release of Adobe Acrobat DC / Acrobat Reader DC (version 21.008 or later, 20.005 or later, or 17.012 or later depending on your track)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader on your system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or on Windows, Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader)
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for available updates
  4. 4. If an update is available, follow the on-screen prompts to download and install the latest version
  5. 5. Alternatively, download the latest version manually from the official Adobe website at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
  6. 6. Restart the application after the update completes
  7. 7. Verify the installed version by going to Help > About to confirm you are running a version newer than 21.007.20099, 20.004.30017, or 17.011.30204
Caveat Standard upgrade risk - ensure you back up any custom settings or preferences before updating; some enterprise deployments may require IT administrator coordination

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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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-2021-44742 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