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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-45063

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 lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. 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 in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC's processing of Format event actions allows disclosure of sensitive memory contents. An attacker can craft a malicious PDF that, when opened by a victim, triggers the vulnerability and potentially bypasses ASLR mitigations through memory disclosure.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version (21.007.20099, 20.004.30017, and 17.011.30204 or later). Avoid opening untrusted PDF files until patches are applied.

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 installed Adobe product
    Check for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader installation. On Windows, examine Add/Remove Programs, or check the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\). The product name appears in the folder structure.
    Affected if Neither Adobe Acrobat nor Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed (not affected). If either product is present, proceed to version check.
  2. Determine installed version number
    Locate the executable (Acrobat.exe or AcroRd32.exe) in the installation folder. Right-click the executable, select Properties, and read the File Version from the Details tab. Alternatively, run 'acrobat' or 'acrord32' with -version flag from command line if available.
    Affected if Version cannot be determined (status unknown). If version is obtained, proceed to comparison.
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Match your installed version to the affected ranges. For Acrobat DC/Reader DC: any version from 15.008.20082 through 21.007.20099 is affected. For Acrobat/Reader (legacy): versions 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30204 OR 20.001.30005 through 20.004.30017 are affected.
    Affected if Installed version falls within any of the affected ranges listed in the CVE. If outside these ranges (below 15.008.20082, above 21.007.20099 for DC; above 17.011.30204 or between 17.x and 20.x for legacy, or above 20.004.30017 for version 20), the specific versions are NOT affected.
  4. Verify Format event action trigger condition
    The vulnerability requires processing of a PDF containing specially crafted Format event actions. This is a file-based trigger - the vulnerability does not activate merely by having the software installed; the user must open a malicious PDF.
    Affected if A PDF with malicious Format event actions is opened in the affected software version.

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number matching 15.008.20082 through 21.007.20099 (DC versions) or 17.011.30059-17.011.30204/20.001.30005-20.004.30017 (legacy versions) AND you open a crafted PDF containing malicious 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 patched version (21.007.20099, 20.004.30017, and 17.011.30204 or later). Avoid opening untrusted PDF files until patches are applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC 21.008.x or later (for continuous track); 20.005.30060 or later (for 2020 track); 17.012.20093 or later (for 2017 track)

  1. 1. Close all Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader instances that are currently running
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Adobe download page at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat
  4. 4. Run the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
  5. 5. Alternatively, open Adobe Reader/Acrobat, go to Help > Check for Updates to receive the latest patched version
  6. 6. After updating, verify the version by going to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader/About Adobe Acrobat
Caveat Minor: Update may require accepting new license terms; ensure compatibility with any existing PDF automation workflows

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
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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-2021-45063 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