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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-26418

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 a Use After Free 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 versions 23.001.20093 and earlier (2023) and 20.005.30441 and earlier (2020) contain a Use After Free vulnerability. This memory corruption issue could allow arbitrary code execution when a victim opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file, executing in the context of the current user privileges.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to the latest version beyond 23.001.20093 or 20.005.30441. Additionally, disable JavaScript execution in Acrobat Reader settings and train users to avoid opening untrusted 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 Reader is installed
    On Windows, check for Acrobat Reader in Program Files or open the application and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat Reader.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader is present on the system
  2. Determine installed version number
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader, then navigate to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader. The version number will be displayed in the format like 23.001.xxxxx or 20.005.xxxxx.
    Affected if The version displayed cannot be determined or is within the affected ranges
  3. Compare version to affected ranges
    Check if the installed version falls within: 20.001.3005 to 20.005.30441 (2020 track) OR 15.008.20082 to 23.001.20093 (2023 track). Any version at or below 23.001.20093 (2023) or at or below 20.005.30441 (2020) is affected.
    Affected if Installed version is 23.001.20093 or lower, or 20.005.30441 or lower, or falls between 20.001.3005 and 20.005.30441, or between 15.008.20082 and 23.001.20093
  4. Check if JavaScript is enabled in Reader settings
    In Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript. Verify whether the "Enable Adobe JavaScript" option is checked.
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled, as this is the attack vector for the malicious PDF to execute code

The system is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed and the version falls within the vulnerable ranges (20.001.3005-20.005.30441 for 2020 track or 15.008.20082-23.001.20093 for 2023 track), especially with JavaScript enabled.

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 the latest version beyond 23.001.20093 or 20.005.30441. Additionally, disable JavaScript execution in Acrobat Reader settings and train users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Latest Adobe Acrobat/Reader release (version > 23.001.20093 or > 20.005.30441)

  1. 1. Close all Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader instances that are currently running
  2. 2. Verify your current version by navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader)
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader from the official Adobe website at adobe.com
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
  5. 5. After installation, restart your computer
  6. 6. Verify the update was successful by checking the version again - ensure you are on a version higher than 23.001.20093 or 20.005.30441
Caveat Standard upgrade risks apply - ensure you back up any custom settings or preferences, and test compatibility with any PDF-dependent workflows 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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,440
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,304.

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-2023-26418 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