CVE-2023-38229
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 · uneditedAdobe Acrobat Reader versions 23.003.20244 (and earlier) and 20.005.30467 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read 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 confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader. An attacker can craft a malicious PDF file that, when opened by a victim, causes the application to read memory outside of allocated buffer bounds, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
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>= 15.008.20082, < 23.003.20269>= 15.008.20082, < 23.003.20269>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30516.10516>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30514.10514>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30516.10516>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30514.10514CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader productOpen Adobe Acrobat/Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number appears in the dialog box. Alternatively on Windows, check Add/Remove Programs or the registry key under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat ReaderAffected if The product is Adobe Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader
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Compare installed version against vulnerable rangesNote the full version number from the About dialog (for example, 15.008.20082 or 20.005.30514). Compare numerically to the affected version ranges: Continuous track versions 15.008.20082 through 23.003.20268 are vulnerable; Classic track versions 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30515.10515 and 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30513.10513 are vulnerableAffected if The installed version falls within any of the vulnerable ranges: >= 15.008.20082 and < 23.003.20269 (Continuous); >= 20.001.30005 and <= 20.005.30516.10516 (Classic); or >= 20.001.30005 and < 20.005.30514.10514 (Classic)
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Confirm the vulnerability trigger conditionThe flaw is triggered only when a user opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file. The application must be actively used to open such a file for the out-of-bounds read to occurAffected if Users routinely open PDF files from email attachments, websites, or other external sources using the affected Adobe product
A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number matching the vulnerable ranges AND the application is used to open PDF files from potentially untrusted sources.
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 · scoped20.005.30514.1051420.005.30516.1051623.003.20269
Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 23.003.20244 (for Continuous track) or 20.005.30467 (for Classic track). Users should avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources until the update is applied.
Acrobat DC/Reader DC: Upgrade to version 23.003.20269 or later | Acrobat/Reader 2020: Upgrade to version 20.005.30516 or later
- 1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat on your system
- 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or use the Help menu)
- 3. Allow the application to check for available updates
- 4. If updates are available, review the update details and click 'Update' or 'Download and Install'
- 5. Wait for the update to download and install completely
- 6. Restart the application after the update completes
- 7. Verify the installed version by going to Help > About Adobe Acrobat [Reader] to confirm the version is 23.003.20269 or later for DC versions, or 20.005.30516 or later for 2020 versions
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38229 — 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-2023-38229 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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