CVE-2023-21586
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 · uneditedAdobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.003.20282 (and earlier), 22.003.20281 (and earlier) and 20.005.30418 (and earlier) are affected by a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve an application denial-of-service 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 confidenceAdobe Acrobat Reader contains a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability that can be triggered when a user opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to cause the application to crash, resulting in a denial-of-service condition in the context of the current user. User interaction is required (victim must open the malicious file).
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>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20282>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20281>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20282>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20281>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30418>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30418CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Adobe productOpen Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat, go to Help > About (or About Adobe Acrobat Reader). Alternatively, right-click the executable file (e.g., AcroRd32.exe or AcroTray.exe) in Program Files and select Properties to view the File Version.Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat Dc, Acrobat Reader Dc, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Reader
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Compare version against affected rangesRecord the full version number displayed (format like xx.xxx.xxxxx). Compare it to these affected ranges: 15.008.20082 through 22.003.20282, 15.008.20082 through 22.003.20281, 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30418.Affected if Installed version falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082 to 22.003.20282, 15.008.20082 to 22.003.20281, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30418
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Confirm product family and channelDetermine whether the installation is Acrobat Dc/Reader Dc (continuous track) or Acrobat/Reader (classic track) by checking the product name or Help > About information.Affected if Product is Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc within version range 15.008.20082 to 22.003.20282 or 22.003.20281, OR product is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader within version range 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30418
You are affected if your installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version falls within the specified vulnerable ranges AND you open a specially crafted malicious PDF file, which would cause the application to crash via NULL pointer dereference.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 22.003.20282, 22.003.20281, or 20.005.30418 as appropriate. Additionally, train users to avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unverified sources.
Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat 22.003.20284 or later (22.x line) / 20.005.30434 or later (20.x line)
- 1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat on your system
- 2. Navigate to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat) to check your current version
- 3. If your version is 22.003.20282 or earlier, 22.003.20281 or earlier, or 20.005.30418 or earlier, you are vulnerable
- 4. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/reader for Reader, or adobe.com for Acrobat)
- 5. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
- 6. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About again to confirm you are on a fixed version (22.003.20284 or later for 22.x line, 20.005.30434 or later for 20.x line)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21586 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-21586 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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