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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-26407

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 Improper Input Validation 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

This is an improper input validation vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader that allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a maliciously crafted PDF file. The vulnerability exists due to insufficient validation of input data within PDF files, enabling an attacker to execute code in the context of the current user's privileges.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to versions newer than 23.001.20093 or 20.005.30441. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.

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. Identify installed Adobe Acrobat Reader version
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (Windows) or Acrobat Reader > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (macOS). Alternatively, check the Windows Registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\<version> or the macOS application bundle info.plist.
    Affected if The version falls within the affected ranges: 20.001.3005 to 20.005.30441 for classic versions, or 15.008.20082 to 23.001.20093 for DC versions.
  2. Confirm product variant (Classic vs DC)
    Check whether the installed product is Adobe Acrobat Reader (Classic) or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC by examining the product name in the About dialog or registry key path.
    Affected if The variant matches the affected version ranges for that specific product type.
  3. Verify version is within vulnerable range
    Compare the installed four-part version number (for example, 20.005.30400) against the affected range boundaries: minimum 20.001.3005 / 15.008.20082 and maximum 20.005.30441 / 23.001.20093.
    Affected if The installed version is greater than or equal to the minimum AND less than or equal to the maximum for the applicable range.

The environment is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat Reader DC is installed with a version number that falls within the specified vulnerable ranges and users open PDF files from untrusted sources.

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 versions newer than 23.001.20093 or 20.005.30441. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Adobe Acrobat/Reader version 23.002.x or later (for 23.x track) or version 20.xx.xxxx or later (for 20.x track). The fixed releases are versions subsequent to 23.001.20093 and 20.005.30441.

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader on the affected system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates or use the built-in update mechanism
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for and install available updates
  4. 4. Alternatively, download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/reader)
  5. 5. Ensure the updated version is greater than 20.005.30441 for the 20.x track or greater than 23.001.20093 for the 23.x track
  6. 6. Restart the application after updating
  7. 7. Verify the update was successful by checking Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader
Caveat Standard Adobe update process typically does not introduce breaking changes for end users; however, some legacy features or plugins may require reconfiguration after major version upgrades.

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

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2023-26407 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