dbcve.org
Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-38231

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 out-of-bounds write 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

Adobe Acrobat Reader contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability allowing arbitrary code execution in the current user's context. Exploitation requires a victim to open a specially crafted malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 23.006.30620 or later (for 2023 track) or version 20.005.30496 or later (for 2020 track). Avoid opening 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 or Reader is installed
    On Windows, check Program Files for 'Adobe' folder or use Programs and Features. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version number
    Open Adobe Acrobat/Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number displays in the format such as 23.003.20269 or 20.005.30516.10516.
    Affected if Version number cannot be determined or the software is installed
  3. Compare against affected version ranges for 2023 track
    Compare your installed version to: 15.008.20082 through 23.003.20268 (inclusive). If your version starts with 23.x and is below 23.003.20269, or starts with 15.x and is at or above 15.008.20082, you are in the affected range.
    Affected if Installed version falls within 15.008.20082 <= version < 23.003.20269 for 2023 track
  4. Compare against affected version ranges for 2020 track
    Compare your installed version to: 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30516.10516, or 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30514.10513. If your version starts with 20.x and is at or above 20.001.30005 but below 20.005.30516.10516 (or below 20.005.30514.10514), you are in the affected range.
    Affected if Installed version falls within 20.001.30005 <= version < 20.005.30516.10516 or 20.001.30005 <= version < 20.005.30514.10514 for 2020 track
  5. Identify the exploitation condition
    This vulnerability requires a specially crafted malicious PDF file to be opened in Adobe Acrobat or Reader.
    Affected if The software opens PDF files from untrusted sources

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed and the version falls within the listed affected ranges (15.008.20082 to 23.003.20268 for 2023 track, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30516.10515 for 2020 track), and the software is used to 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 version 23.006.30620 or later (for 2023 track) or version 20.005.30496 or later (for 2020 track). Avoid opening untrusted PDF files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC (2023): Upgrade to version 23.003.20269 or later; Acrobat 2020: Upgrade to version 20.005.30516 or later (or 20.005.30514 or later depending on your release track)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat on your system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or use the menu appropriate to your version)
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for available updates
  4. 4. If updates are available, download and install the latest version
  5. 5. Alternatively, manually download the fixed version from Adobe's official website: get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat
  6. 6. Restart the application after installation
  7. 7. Verify the installed version by going to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat)
Caveat Standard user-level upgrade; ensure compatibility with your document workflows before deploying enterprise-wide

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc 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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38231 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-38231 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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