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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-38236

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. 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 read vulnerability that allows reading memory beyond allocated buffers, potentially exposing sensitive information. The vulnerability can be leveraged to bypass security mitigations like ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization). Successful exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 23.006.20360 (or later) for the 2023 track, or version 20.005.30499 (or later) for the 2020 track. Restrict opening PDF files from untrusted sources and enable Adobe's Protected View or sandboxing features as additional layers of defense.

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Confirm Adobe Acrobat installation
    Check if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is installed on the system. Look in Program Files for Adobe folders, or check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe or HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Adobe.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is installed on the system.
  2. Find installed version in 2023 track
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Alternatively, right-click the executable in Program Files and select Properties > Details to view the Product Version.
    Affected if The installed version is 15.008.20082 or higher but lower than 23.003.20269.
  3. Find installed version in 2020 track
    Same method as step 2 - check Help > About or right-click the executable for Product Version.
    Affected if The installed version starts with 20.001.30005 or higher, specifically if it is 20.005.30516.10516 or below, or between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30514.10514.
  4. Verify Protected View status
    In Adobe Acrobat/Reader, go to Edit > Preferences > Security (Enhanced) and check if Protected View is set to 'All Files' or at minimum for 'Files from Unsafe Locations'. This determines exposure if a malicious PDF is opened.
    Affected if Protected View is disabled or set to 'Off', allowing potentially malicious PDF files to execute without additional sandboxing.

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is installed with a version matching the ranges 15.008.20082 to 23.003.20269, or the 20.x versions specified, 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

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 23.006.20360 (or later) for the 2023 track, or version 20.005.30499 (or later) for the 2020 track. Restrict opening PDF files from untrusted sources and enable Adobe's Protected View or sandboxing features as additional layers of defense.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: version 23.003.20269 or later | Acrobat 2020/Reader 2020: version 20.005.30516.10516 or later

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application, selecting 'Help' > 'About Adobe Acrobat Reader' (or 'About Adobe Acrobat')
  2. 2. Note the version number and determine if it falls within the affected ranges: DC versions before 23.003.20269, or 2020 classic versions before 20.005.30516.10516
  3. 3. Navigate to the official Adobe Acrobat download page: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat
  4. 4. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat
  5. 5. Close all Adobe applications running on the system
  6. 6. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
  7. 7. After installation, verify the new version by checking 'Help' > 'About' to confirm the version is at or above 23.003.20269 (DC) or 20.005.30516.10516 (2020 classic)
Caveat Standard Adobe update - minimal risk; ensure regular backups of important PDF files before updating

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
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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-2023-38236 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