CVE-2023-26397
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 23.001.20093 (and earlier) and 20.005.30441 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. 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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader allows reading memory beyond allocated boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive information and enabling bypass of ASLR mitigation. Exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious PDF 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>= 20.001.3005, <= 20.005.30441>= 15.008.20082, <= 23.001.20093>= 20.001.3005, <= 20.005.30441>= 15.008.20082, <= 23.001.20093CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Check if Adobe Acrobat Reader is installedOn Windows, open Programs and Features or check for the executable at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Acrobat\Acrobat.exe or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe. On macOS, check /Applications/ for Adobe Acrobat Reader.Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat Dc is present on the system
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Determine the installed version of Adobe Acrobat ReaderRight-click the Acrobat.exe or AcroRd32.exe file, select Properties, and view the Details tab for the Product Version. Alternatively, open Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader.Affected if The version displayed is within 20.001.3005 to 20.005.30441 for standard Acrobat/Reader, or 15.008.20082 to 23.001.20093 for Acrobat Dc/Reader Dc variants
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Confirm the product variant to map to correct affected rangeCheck the product name in Help > About or the installation folder name (Acrobat DC vs Acrobat Reader DC vs Acrobat vs Reader).Affected if The product variant matches any of the four affected products listed in the CVE
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Verify the attack vector conditionThe vulnerability is triggered only when a user opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file. Check if the application is configured to automatically open PDF files or if users routinely open PDF attachments from untrusted sources.Affected if Users on the system open PDF files from email attachments, downloads, or other untrusted sources
The system is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat Dc is installed with a version within the specified ranges (20.001.3005-20.005.30441 or 15.008.20082-23.001.20093) and users open PDF files from potentially malicious sources.
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 23.001.20093 or 20.005.30441, and exercise caution when opening PDF files from untrusted sources.
Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 20.005.30449+ or 23.001.20094+ (latest available version)
- 1. Identify the installed Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader version by navigating to Help > About (or pressing Ctrl+Shift+About in the application)
- 2. For versions in the 20.x track (20.001.3005 through 20.005.30441): Download and install Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader version 20.005.30449 or later from the official Adobe website
- 3. For versions in the 23.x track (15.008.20082 through 23.001.20093): Download and install Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader version 23.001.20094 or later from the official Adobe website
- 4. Alternatively, enable automatic updates: Go to Edit > Preferences > Updater and select 'Automatically install updates'
- 5. Verify the update was successful by checking Help > About again to confirm the version number is beyond the vulnerable range
- 6. Ensure users are cautioned against opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources as an additional precautionary measure
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-26397 — 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-2023-26397 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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- 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
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