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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-38223

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.005.30514.10514 / 20.005.30516.10516 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 23.003.20244 (and earlier) and 20.005.30467 (and earlier) are affected by an Access of Uninitialized Pointer 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 contains an Access of Uninitialized Pointer vulnerability in versions 23.003.20244 and earlier (2023.x) and 20.005.30467 and earlier (2020.x). An attacker can exploit this by tricking a user into opening a maliciously crafted PDF file, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user.

MitigationApply vendor patches: update to Adobe Acrobat Reader 23.006.20360 or later for the 2023 track, or 20.005.30499 or later for the 2020 track. Until patched, avoid 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
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, < 23.003.20269
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, < 23.003.20269
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30516.10516>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30514.10514
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30516.10516>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30514.10514

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 Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check the application name in Start Menu. Look for 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC', 'Adobe Acrobat DC', 'Adobe Acrobat Reader 2020', or 'Adobe Acrobat 2020'.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (any variant)
  2. Check installed version on Windows
    Locate the Acrobat/Reader executable (typically in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat DC\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat Reader DC\). Right-click the .exe file, select Properties, then view the Details tab for the 'Product version' field.
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or is not visible
  3. Compare version against affected 2023 track
    If product name includes '2023' or version starts with '23.x', check if version is >= 15.008.20082 AND < 23.003.20269. The 23.003.20269 and later versions are patched.
    Affected if Installed version falls within >= 15.008.20082 and < 23.003.20269 for 2023 track products
  4. Compare version against affected 2020 track
    If product name includes '2020' or version starts with '20.x', check if version is >= 20.001.30005 AND (< 20.005.30516.10516 OR < 20.005.30514.10514). Versions 20.005.30467 and earlier are explicitly vulnerable.
    Affected if Installed version falls within >= 20.001.30005 and < 20.005.30516.10516 (or < 20.005.30514.10514 depending on specific build) for 2020 track products
  5. Verify if PDF files from untrusted sources are processed
    Confirm whether the system routinely opens PDF files received via email, downloaded from the internet, or from other untrusted sources using Adobe Acrobat/Reader.
    Affected if Adobe is used as the default PDF handler and files from untrusted sources are commonly opened

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is installed with a version in the 2023 track below 23.003.20269 or in the 2020 track below 20.005.30467, AND the user opens 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 20.005.30514.10514 / 20.005.30516.10516 / 23.003.20269 or later
Fixed in 20.005.30514.1051420.005.30516.1051623.003.20269
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches: update to Adobe Acrobat Reader 23.006.20360 or later for the 2023 track, or 20.005.30499 or later for the 2020 track. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader DC (Continuous): version 23.003.20269 or later | Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader Classic: version 20.005.30516.10516 or later

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader on your system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or on macOS, Acrobat Reader > Check for Updates)
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for available updates
  4. 4. If an update is available, download and install the latest version
  5. 5. Alternatively, manually download the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/reader)
  6. 6. Ensure you upgrade to version 23.003.20269 or later for DC (Continuous) track, or version 20.005.30516.10516 or later for Classic track
Caveat Standard Adobe update - minimal risk; ensure you close all PDF documents before updating

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2023-38223 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