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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-21579

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 22.003.20282 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
Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.003.20282 (and earlier), 22.003.20281 (and earlier) and 20.005.30418 (and earlier) are affected by an Integer Overflow or Wraparound 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

Integer Overflow or Wraparound vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader allows arbitrary code execution when a victim opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file. The vulnerability exists in multiple versions (22.003.20282 and earlier, 22.003.20281 and earlier, 20.005.30418 and earlier) and executes in the context of the current user.

MitigationApply the latest security patch from Adobe for Acrobat Reader to address the integer overflow vulnerability; ensure users do not open untrusted PDF files from unknown 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, <= 22.003.20282>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20281
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20282>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20281
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30418
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30418

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. Check if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ and look for entries starting with 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe Reader'
    Affected if No Adobe product is found (not affected)
  2. Determine the installed version of Adobe Acrobat DC or Reader DC
    Open Acrobat/Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader, or check the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\InstallVersion - look for the 'Version' value (for continuous track versions)
    Affected if Version is between 15.008.20082 and 22.003.20282 inclusive, or between 15.008.20082 and 22.003.20281 inclusive
  3. Determine the installed version of Adobe Acrobat or Reader (classic track)
    Open Acrobat/Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader, or check the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\20.0\InstallVersion - look for the 'Version' value (for classic track versions)
    Affected if Version is between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30418 inclusive, or the product version shows 15.008.20082 through 20.005.30418 range
  4. Confirm the exact product name and track type
    Review the product name from Programs and Features or the About dialog - continuous track products are named 'Adobe Acrobat DC' or 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC', while classic track are named 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe Reader'
    Affected if Product falls into any of the four affected product categories listed in the CVE

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Reader is installed with a version number within any of 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 22.003.20282
Interim mitigation

Apply the latest security patch from Adobe for Acrobat Reader to address the integer overflow vulnerability; ensure users do not open untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Adobe Acrobat Reader DC / Acrobat DC version 22.003.20283 or later (for 22.x line); version 20.005.30419 or later (for 20.x line)

  1. 1. Close all Adobe Acrobat or Reader instances running on the system
  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 DC
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
  5. 5. Alternatively, open the application and go to Help > Check for Updates to receive the latest security patch
  6. 6. Restart the system after installation to ensure all components are properly updated
Caveat Standard upgrade should not introduce breaking changes; minor version updates within the same major release typically maintain compatibility

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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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-2023-21579 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