dbcve.org
Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2021-45068

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

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC allows arbitrary code execution with the current user's privileges. The flaw exists in specific legacy versions (21.007.20099 and earlier, 20.004.30017 and earlier, 17.011.30204 and earlier) and requires a victim to open a malicious PDF file to trigger exploitation.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version 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. Identify the installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version
    On Windows, open Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version (or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Reader\DC\Version). Alternatively, open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader).
    Affected if The version number falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082 through 21.007.20099, 17.011.30059 through 17.011.30204, 20.001.30005 through 20.004.30017, or 20.004.30017 and earlier.
  2. Confirm the exact build number
    Locate the full version string in the registry value or About dialog. It typically appears in format like 21.007.20099.xxxxxx. Note the first two numeric segments (major.minor) and the three-segment build (xx.xx.xxxxxx).
    Affected if The build number is 21.007.20099 or lower, 20.004.30017 or lower, 17.011.30204 or lower, or 15.008.20082 or higher within the affected ranges.
  3. Determine if the application processes untrusted PDF files
    Review whether users in the environment routinely open PDF attachments from unknown senders or download PDF files from untrusted websites. Check email gateway or endpoint protection policies for PDF handling restrictions.
    Affected if Users open PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources without prior validation, as the vulnerability is triggered by opening a maliciously crafted PDF.

You are affected if your installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version falls within the specified version ranges AND users in your environment 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 and exercise caution when opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

For 21.x line: upgrade to version 21.008.x or later | For 20.x line: upgrade to version 20.005.x or later | For 17.x line: upgrade to version 17.012.x or later (or migrate to latest 21.x release)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader on your system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or use the Help menu)
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for and download the latest version
  4. 4. Install the available security update
  5. 5. 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)
  6. 6. Restart the application after installation
  7. 7. Verify the version by going to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader to confirm the version number
Caveat Adobe updates are generally backward-compatible with PDF files; minor UI changes may occur in new versions

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-45068 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-45068 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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