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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-26425

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 read vulnerability when parsing a crafted file, which could result in a read past the end of an allocated memory structure. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to execute code 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 read vulnerability when parsing crafted PDF files. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of an allocated memory structure, which an attacker could leverage to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user's session. Exploitation requires user interaction, specifically opening a malicious PDF file.

MitigationOrganizations should update Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 23.001.20094 or later for the 23.x branch, or 20.005.30442 or later for the 20.x branch. Users should exercise caution when opening PDF files from untrusted 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 product
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Note whether it says 'Acrobat Reader' or 'Acrobat' and whether it includes 'Dc' in the product name.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat (any variant) rather than an unrelated application.
  2. Determine exact version number
    In the About dialog, record the exact version string (for example: 20.005.30418 or 23.001.20093). On Windows, you can also find this in Programs and Features or via command: wmic product get name,version where name contains 'Acrobat' or 'Reader'. On macOS, check /Applications/Adobe Acrobat Reader.app or /Applications/Adobe Acrobat.app and view Get Info.
    Affected if A version is installed that falls within the affected ranges.
  3. Compare against affected version ranges
    Check if the installed version falls within: 20.001.3005 through 20.005.30441 (20.x branch), OR 15.008.20082 through 23.001.20093 (15.x/23.x branch). Versions 20.005.30442 and later, or 23.001.20094 and later, are patched.
    Affected if The installed version is >= 20.001.3005 AND <= 20.005.30441, OR >= 15.008.20082 AND <= 23.001.20093.
  4. Verify PDF parsing is active
    The vulnerability is triggered when parsing PDF files. Ensure the product is used to open PDF documents. The vulnerability applies to the core PDF parsing engine, which is always active when opening PDFs.
    Affected if The product is capable of opening and parsing PDF files, which is its primary function.

A user is affected if they have Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat (Dc variants included) installed with a version number within the ranges 20.001.3005-20.005.30441 or 15.008.20082-23.001.20093, and they 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

Organizations should update Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 23.001.20094 or later for the 23.x branch, or 20.005.30442 or later for the 20.x branch. Users should exercise caution when opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 20.005.30452+ (for 20.x track) or 23.001.20094+/latest 23.x release (for 23.x track)

  1. 1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat/Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat).
  2. 2. For versions 20.x (20.001.3005 through 20.005.30441): Upgrade to version 20.005.30452 or later.
  3. 3. For versions 23.x (15.008.20082 through 23.001.20093): Upgrade to version 23.001.20094 or later, or upgrade to the latest 23.x release.
  4. 4. Download the updated version from the official Adobe website at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat).
  5. 5. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat/Reader before installing the update.
  6. 6. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade.
  7. 7. After installation, verify the version via Help > About to confirm the fix is applied.
  8. 8. Apply standard security practices: do not open untrusted PDF files, keep auto-update enabled, and consider deploying updates via enterprise patch management tools if in an organizational environment.
Caveat Standard upgrade; ensure compatibility with existing PDF workflows and any third-party plugins; enterprise deployments should test in staging first

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

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2023-26425 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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