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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 5 Oct 2023.
AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-26369

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.005.30524 / 23.006.20320 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild 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 versions 23.003.20284 (and earlier), 20.005.30516 (and earlier) and 20.005.30514 (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

Adobe Acrobat Reader contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability where the software writes data beyond the allocated memory boundaries. This memory corruption can be leveraged by an attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the current user. Successful exploitation requires the victim to open a maliciously crafted PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 23.003.20284, 20.005.30516, or 20.005.30514. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and consider enabling Protected View in Adobe settings.

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
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.3005, < 20.005.30524
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.007.20033, < 23.006.20320
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.3005, < 20.005.30524
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.007.20033, < 23.006.20320

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
    On Windows, open Programs and Features or run: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A90000000001}' (Reader) or '{AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-A91000000001}' (Acrobat). On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed
  2. Determine the installed version number
    On Windows, right-click the application in Programs and Features and select Properties, then view the Version field. Alternatively, open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader. On macOS, right-click the app in Applications and select Get Info.
    Affected if The version displayed is within the affected ranges: 20.001.3005 through 20.005.30523 (or 15.007.20033 through 23.006.20319 for Dc variants)
  3. Verify the PDF handling component is present
    Attempt to open a PDF file with the installed Adobe application by double-clicking any PDF file or launching the application and using File > Open.
    Affected if The application successfully opens and displays PDF documents, indicating the vulnerable component is active

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is installed with a version matching 20.001.3005 to 20.005.30523 (Classic track) or 15.007.20033 to 23.006.20319 (Continuous/Dc track), and the application can 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 20.005.30524 / 23.006.20320 or later
Fixed in 20.005.3052423.006.20320
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 23.003.20284, 20.005.30516, or 20.005.30514. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and consider enabling Protected View in Adobe settings.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat/Acrobat Reader: 23.006.20320 (Continuous track) or 20.005.30524 (Classic 2020 track)

  1. Identify the installed Acrobat/Acrobat Reader version by opening the application, selecting Help > About (or on Mac, Acrobat/Reader > About).
  2. For the Continuous track (Dc) versions: Upgrade to version 23.006.20320 or later.
  3. For the Classic 2020 track versions: Upgrade to version 20.005.30524 or later.
  4. Download the updated version from the official Adobe website at helpx.adobe.com or via your organization's software distribution method.
  5. Close all instances of Acrobat or Acrobat Reader.
  6. Install the updated version using standard installation procedures.
  7. Restart the application after installation completes.
  8. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release (Help > About).
Caveat Standard Adobe update; may require acceptance of new license terms; ensure compatibility with any third-party PDF plugins

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

Fix this in Acrobat Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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-2023-26369 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