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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-38225

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 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

This is a Use After Free (UAF) memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader. The flaw allows an attacker to access freed memory locations, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. Successful exploitation requires a victim to open a specially crafted malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 23.003.20244 (for the 2023 track) or 20.005.30467 (for the 2020 track). Users should be advised not to open 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
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. Verify Adobe Acrobat Reader installation
    On Windows, check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\ or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat for the installed version. On macOS, run 'ls /Applications | grep -i adobe' or check via 'system_profiler SPApplicationsDataType'.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is present on the system
  2. Determine exact installed version number
    On Windows, look for the Version value in the registry path above or right-click the executable (e.g., AcroRd32.exe in the Reader installation folder) and select Properties > Details. On macOS, right-click the application in Applications, select Get Info, and check the version under Version:
    Affected if Version falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082 to 23.003.20268 (inclusive), 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30516.10516 (inclusive but excluding 20.005.30514.10514), or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30514.10513 (inclusive)
  3. Identify the product track (2020, 2015, or 2023)
    The version number indicates the release year: 15.xxxx corresponds to the 2015 track, 20.xxxx to the 2020 track, and 23.xxxx to the 2023 track. Compare your version to the corresponding range from step 2.
    Affected if Running any version in the 2015, 2020, or 2023 tracks that is less than the fixed versions (23.003.20269 for 2023, 20.005.30516 or 20.005.30514 for 2020, 15.008.20082 or later for 2015)
  4. Check if users handle untrusted PDF files
    Survey user behavior or endpoint detection rules for instances where Adobe Acrobat Reader opens PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources. This vulnerability is triggered only when a user opens a specially crafted malicious PDF.
    Affected if Users routinely open PDF attachments from untrusted emails, download PDF files from unverified sources, or have no endpoint protection scanning PDF files before opening

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is installed with a version number that falls within any of the documented affected ranges and users in your environment open 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 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

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 23.003.20244 (for the 2023 track) or 20.005.30467 (for the 2020 track). Users should be advised not to open untrusted PDF files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 23.003.20269 or later; Acrobat 2020/Reader 2020: 20.005.30516 or later

  1. 1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat/Reader version by opening the application, navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat for the Pro version)
  2. 2. For Acrobat DC/Acrobat Reader DC users: Upgrade to version 23.003.20269 or later by checking for updates via Help > Check for Updates
  3. 3. For Acrobat 2020/Acrobat Reader 2020 users: Upgrade to version 20.005.30516 (or the latest 20.x release)
  4. 4. Download the appropriate installer from the official Adobe website if automatic updates are not available
  5. 5. Close all Adobe applications before installing the update
  6. 6. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
  7. 7. Restart the application and verify the new version by checking Help > About
Caveat Standard minor version upgrade; should preserve user settings and preferences

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
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2023-38225 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