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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-45061

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 write vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution 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 write vulnerability that allows arbitrary code execution when a victim opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file. The vulnerability affects multiple version branches (21.x, 20.x, and 17.x) and is triggered when the malformed PDF is processed by the application, leading to memory corruption that can be weaponized for code execution in the current user's context.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version to remediate this vulnerability, 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
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. Verify Adobe Acrobat installation
    Check for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader installation: On Windows, open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Adobe. Alternatively, check Program Files for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader folders.
    Affected if Either Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is installed on the system
  2. Determine installed version
    Locate the version in the Windows Registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\[Product Name]\[Version]\Installer, or right-click the Adobe executable in Program Files and select Properties > Details to view the File Version.
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or the product is not found
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Match your installed version number to the following vulnerable ranges: Acrobat/Reader DC (15.x): 15.008.20082 through 15.008.20082; Acrobat/Reader DC (21.x): 15.008.20082 through 21.007.20099; Acrobat/Reader (17.x): 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30204; Acrobat/Reader (20.x): 20.001.30005 through 20.004.30017. Note that the exact boundary versions (minimum and maximum listed) are also affected.
    Affected if The installed version falls within or matches any of these ranges: 15.008.20082, 17.011.30059-17.011.30204, 20.001.30005-20.004.30017, or 15.008.20082-21.007.20099
  4. Assess user exposure to malicious PDFs
    Evaluate whether users in the environment have the ability to open PDF files from email attachments, downloads, or external removable media. This can be determined through email filtering policies, download restrictions, or user training awareness.
    Affected if Users routinely open PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources without verification

The environment is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version matching any of the affected ranges AND users can open PDF files from untrusted sources.

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 to remediate this vulnerability, and exercise caution when opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 21.007.20100 or later (or latest stable release); 20.004.30018 or later for 20.x track; 17.011.30205 or later for 17.x track

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About (or About Adobe Acrobat/Reader)
  2. 2. Determine which product line and version track (17.x, 20.x, or 21.x) corresponds to your installation
  3. 3. For Acrobat DC / Acrobat Reader DC: Upgrade to version 21.007.20100 or later (or the latest available version)
  4. 4. For Acrobat / Acrobat Reader version 17.x: Upgrade to version 17.011.30205 or later
  5. 5. For Acrobat / Acrobat Reader version 20.x: Upgrade to version 20.004.30018 or later
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new version in Help > About
Caveat Standard minor version upgrade; no expected breaking changes for typical users. Ensure compatibility with other PDF-dependent tools in the environment.

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
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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-2021-45061 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