CVE-2023-28500
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 · uneditedA Java insecure deserialization vulnerability in Adobe LiveCycle ES4 version 11.0 and earlier allows unauthenticated remote attackers to gain operating system code execution by submitting specially crafted Java serialized objects to a specific URL. Adobe LiveCycle ES4 version 11.0.1 and later may be vulnerable if the application is installed with Java environment 7u21 and earlier. Exploitation of the vulnerability depends on two factors: insecure deserialization methods used in the Adobe LiveCycle application, and the use of Java environments 7u21 and earlier. The code execution is performed in the context of the account that is running the Adobe LiveCycle application. If the account is privileged, exploitation provides privileged access to the operating system. NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer.
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 confidenceInsecure deserialization vulnerability in Adobe LiveCycle ES4 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary operating system code by submitting crafted Java serialized objects to a specific endpoint. Exploitation requires both vulnerable deserialization code in the application AND Java environments 7u21 or earlier. Code execution occurs in the context of the service account running Adobe LiveCycle.
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< 11.0.1CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Adobe LiveCycle ES4 is installedLocate the Adobe LiveCycle ES4 installation directory or check system services for the Adobe LiveCycle ES4 applicationAffected if Adobe LiveCycle ES4 is present on the system
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Check Adobe LiveCycle ES4 versionDetermine the installed version of Adobe LiveCycle ES4 from the product information, typically found in the installation directory or product registry, then compare against the affected range (versions below 11.0.1)Affected if Installed version is lower than 11.0.1
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Identify Java runtime version used by the serviceDetermine the Java version that Adobe LiveCycle ES4 is running on. This can be checked by inspecting the Java process or the JRE/JDK configuration used by the application serviceAffected if Java version is 7u21 or earlier
The environment is vulnerable only if Adobe LiveCycle ES4 version is below 11.0.1 AND the Java runtime is version 7u21 or earlier, since both conditions must be present for the deserialization exploit to succeed
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 · scoped11.0.1
Primary mitigation is to migrate away from the unsupported Adobe LiveCycle ES4 product to a supported solution. If the product must remain in use, upgrade Java from version 7u21 or earlier to a supported Java 7+ release to eliminate one required exploitation factor.
Adobe LiveCycle ES4 version 11.0.1
- 1. Verify current Adobe LiveCycle ES4 version by checking the application administration console or installation files.
- 2. If running a version earlier than 11.0.1, upgrade to Adobe LiveCycle ES4 version 11.0.1 as the minimum fixed release.
- 3. After upgrading to 11.0.1, verify the Java environment version is greater than 7u21 (Java 8 or later recommended).
- 4. If Java 7u21 or earlier must be used for legacy compatibility, consider upgrading to a later LiveCycle version if available from Adobe, or implement network-level access controls to limit exposure to the vulnerable endpoint.
- 5. Restart the Adobe LiveCycle services after Java version changes.
- 6. Test critical workflows to ensure functionality is maintained after changes.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28500 — 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-2023-28500 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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