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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-26395

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 23.001.20093 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 23.001.20093 (and earlier) and 20.005.30441 (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 in versions 23.001.20093 and earlier (2023 track) and 20.005.30441 and earlier (2020 track). Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, but requires the victim to open a specially crafted malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 23.001.20094 or later for the 2023 release, or version 20.005.30456 or later for the 2020 release. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files.

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, <= 20.005.30441
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, <= 23.001.20093
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.3005, <= 20.005.30441
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, <= 23.001.20093

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. Verify Adobe Acrobat product is installed
    Open Windows Settings > Apps > Apps & features, or use command: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*Adobe*Acrobat*'} | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion
    Affected if No Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader installation is found, then the system is not affected by this specific vulnerability.
  2. Identify exact product name and version
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Alternatively, right-click the桌面 shortcut and select Properties to view the version in the Details tab.
    Affected if The product name and version are displayed; proceed to compare against affected ranges.
  3. Compare installed version to affected ranges
    For 2023 track (DC): versions 15.008.20082 through 23.001.20093 are affected. For 2020 track: versions 20.001.3005 through 20.005.30441 are affected. Note: Classic track versions are not listed as affected in this CVE.
    Affected if Installed version falls within or below the upper bound of the affected ranges (23.001.20093 for DC, 20.005.30441 for 2020 track), meaning the version is vulnerable if it also meets the lower bound minimum.
  4. Assess exposure to malicious PDF files
    Review whether the system routinely opens PDF files from untrusted sources, email attachments, or web downloads. Check browser and email client settings for automatic PDF handling.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader is set as the default PDF handler and the user opens PDF files from external or untrusted sources, creating a potential attack vector.

A system is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is installed with a version within the ranges 15.008.20082-23.001.20093 (2023/DC track) or 20.001.3005-20.005.30441 (2020 track) and the user may open untrusted 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 23.001.20093
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 23.001.20094 or later for the 2023 release, or version 20.005.30456 or later for the 2020 release. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files.

Recommended fix Low confidence

Latest available Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (versions beyond 23.001.20093 for DC track and beyond 20.005.30441 for 2020 track)

  1. Verify the current Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat)
  2. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from the official Adobe website (adobe.com) or use Adobe's automatic update feature via Help > Check for Updates
  3. Close all Adobe applications and any web browsers with PDF files open
  4. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade
  5. After installation, restart your computer to ensure all components are properly updated
  6. Verify the new version by checking Help > About to confirm you are on a version higher than 23.001.20093 or 20.005.30441
Caveat Standard upgrade; ensure compatibility with existing PDF workflows and third-party integrations before deploying organization-wide

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

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2023-26395 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