CVE-2023-38238
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 a Use-After-Free 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 confidenceA Use-After-Free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 23.003.20244 (and earlier) and 20.005.30467 (and earlier) allows an attacker to read sensitive memory contents and potentially bypass ASLR mitigations. Exploitation requires a victim to open a maliciously crafted PDF 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Adobe productCheck if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed on the system by looking for the application in Program Files (Windows) or Applications folder (macOS), or by checking the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe or macOS /Applications folder for Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader.Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is present on the system
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Determine installed version on WindowsOpen Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\InstallProperties (for Acrobat DC) or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\InstallProperties (for Reader DC). Locate the 'Version' or 'ProductVersion' value to find the exact installed version number.Affected if The version number matches the affected ranges: 15.008.20082 to 23.003.20268 for DC products, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30516.10515 (or 20.005.30514.10513 for the second range) for 2020 products
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Determine installed version on macOSRight-click on Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat in the Applications folder, select 'Get Info', and read the version number displayed next to 'Version'. Alternatively, right-click the app, select 'Show Package Contents', and check Contents/Info.plist for CFBundleShortVersionString.Affected if The version number matches the affected ranges: 15.008.20082 to 23.003.20268 for DC products, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30516.10515 (or 20.005.30514.10513 for the second range) for 2020 products
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Verify exploitability conditionThis vulnerability is triggered only when a user opens a maliciously crafted PDF file. Check with endpoint monitoring tools or user training records to determine whether users routinely open PDF files from untrusted sources.Affected if Users in the organization open PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources, increasing the likelihood of exploitation
A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number that falls within the affected ranges (15.008.20082 to 23.003.20268 for DC products, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30516.10515/20.005.30514.10513 for 2020 products) and users may open PDF files from 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 the latest patched version released by Adobe. Deploy the update organization-wide via patch management tools to ensure all vulnerable installations are remediated.
Acrobat/Acrobat Reader DC: 23.003.20269 or later; Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 2020 (Classic): 20.005.30516.10516 or later
- 1. Identify the installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader)
- 2. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader DC (Continuous) versions 15.008.20082 through 23.003.20268: Upgrade to version 23.003.20269 or later
- 3. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 2020 (Classic) versions 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30516.10515: Upgrade to version 20.005.30516.10516 or later
- 4. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 2020 (Classic) versions 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30514.10513: Upgrade to version 20.005.30514.10514 or later
- 5. Download the latest version from the official Adobe website or use the application's update feature (Help > Check for Updates)
- 6. Restart the application after installation
- 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38238 — 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-2023-38238 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data