dbcve.org
Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-21611

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 a Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Incorrect Permissions vulnerability that could result in privilege escalation 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 creates temporary files with overly permissive permissions, allowing a local attacker to manipulate these files after a victim opens a malicious PDF. The incorrect file permissions enable privilege escalation to the current user's context.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to the latest patched version beyond 22.003.20282/22.003.20281/20.005.30418. Apply vendor security updates as soon as feasible.

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. Identify installed Adobe product
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader to see the exact product name and version number. Alternatively, check Programs and Features in Control Panel or the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe or HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Adobe for the product name and version.
    Affected if The installed product is Adobe Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  2. Verify installed version against affected ranges
    Compare the displayed version number 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. Note that versions are formatted differently (DC versions use 22.xxx while classic versions use 20.xxx).
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of the specified ranges: >= 15.008.20082 and <= 22.003.20282, >= 15.008.20082 and <= 22.003.20281, or >= 20.001.30005 and <= 20.005.30418.
  3. Confirm the application is used to open PDF files
    The vulnerability is triggered when opening a malicious PDF. This is inherent to normal PDF handling operations in Acrobat/Reader; no specific feature needs to be enabled.
    Affected if The user opens PDF files using Adobe Acrobat or Reader, as the vulnerability exploits the temp file creation during PDF processing.

A user is affected if they have Adobe Acrobat or Reader installed with a version matching the specified ranges (15.008.20082 through 22.003.20282 or 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30418).

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

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to the latest patched version beyond 22.003.20282/22.003.20281/20.005.30418. Apply vendor security updates as soon as feasible.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: version 22.003.20283 or later; Acrobat/Reader (classic): version 20.005.30419 or later

  1. Verify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat
  2. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader from the official Adobe website or through your organization's software distribution channel
  3. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat/Reader and any applications using PDF functionality
  4. Run the installer with appropriate administrative privileges
  5. Restart the system after installation to ensure all components are properly updated
  6. Verify the version has been updated to a version newer than the vulnerable releases
Caveat Standard security update with no expected breaking changes; ensure compatibility with existing PDF workflows and integrations

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,920
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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-2023-21611 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