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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-45060

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 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 and could be leveraged to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest version. Until patched, avoid 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
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. Identify if Adobe Acrobat is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or macOS Applications folder. Look for 'Adobe Acrobat DC', 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC', 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe Acrobat Reader'.
    Affected if Any Adobe Acrobat or Reader product is installed
  2. Determine the installed version number
    Right-click the installed Adobe application in Programs and Features, select Properties, and view the Version field. Alternatively, open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) to see the version number.
    Affected if Version falls within 15.008.20082 to 21.007.20099, OR 17.011.30059 to 17.011.30204, OR 20.001.30005 to 20.004.30017
  3. Confirm the product type and channel
    Check whether the installed product is Acrobat (full) or Acrobat Reader. Also identify if it is the Continuous track (indicated by version 21.x or 15.x) or the Classic track (indicated by version 20.x or 17.x).
    Affected if Any of the affected version ranges above apply to the specific product and track installed

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed with a version matching any of the listed affected 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. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC version 21.008.x or later; or version 20.005.x or later; or version 17.012.x or later (depending on your release track)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader on your system.
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or on Windows, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader).
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for and install any available updates.
  4. 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. 5. Ensure the updated version is greater than 21.007.20099, 20.004.30017, or 17.011.30204 depending on your product line.
  6. 6. Restart the application after updating.
  7. 7. Verify the update by checking Help > About to confirm you have a version beyond the affected ranges.
Caveat Standard Adobe update - minimal risk; includes security fixes and may include feature improvements

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,050
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,880.

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-2021-45060 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