CVE-2023-38233
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 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 · moderate confidenceAdobe Acrobat Reader contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability where parsing a maliciously crafted PDF file can lead to memory corruption and arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. This is a classic memory corruption bug in PDF rendering logic.
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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Confirm Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installedCheck Program Files for Adobe Acrobat or Reader folders, or check Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe or HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\AdobeAffected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader software is present on the system
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Locate the installed executable versionFind the main executable (Acrobat.exe or AcroRd32.exe) in Program Files, right-click and select Properties, or check version in Help > About menu of the applicationAffected if Cannot determine version information from the executable or application
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Extract the exact version numberNote the full version string from the executable properties or About dialog (format like 15.x.x.xxxxx or 20.xxx.xxxxx.xxxxx)Affected if Version number cannot be retrieved or is incomplete
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Compare version against affected rangesMatch your version against: 15.008.20082 to 23.003.20268 (for DC/Reader DC); 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30516.10516 or 20.005.30514.10513 (for Acrobat/Reader classic)Affected if Installed version falls within any of the listed vulnerable ranges and is not a patched version (23.003.20269 or higher, or 20.005.30516.10516 or higher for classic track)
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Verify PDF rendering feature is activeConfirm the application can open and render PDF files (default behavior for Acrobat Reader)Affected if PDF files can be opened in the application, as the vulnerability triggers during PDF parsing
User is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version between 15.008.20082 and 23.003.20268 (DC/Reader DC), or between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30516.10516/20.005.30514.10514 (classic), and the application can open PDF files.
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 the latest version immediately. Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources and consider enabling Protected View in Adobe security settings.
Adobe Acrobat/Reader 23.003.20269 or later (23.x line); Adobe Acrobat/Reader 20.005.30516 or later (20.x line)
- 1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader)
- 2. For version 23.x users: Navigate to Help > Check for Updates and install version 23.003.20269 or later
- 3. Alternatively, download the latest version from the official Adobe website: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
- 4. For version 20.x users: Upgrade to version 20.005.30516 or later, or 20.005.30514 or later depending on your build
- 5. Restart the application after updating
- 6. Verify the updated version by checking Help > About to confirm the installation was successful
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2023-38233 — 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-2023-38233 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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