CVE-2023-38241
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 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 confidenceAdobe Acrobat Reader contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in versions 23.003.20244 and earlier (2023.x) and 20.005.30467 and earlier (2020.x). The flaw allows reading memory beyond allocated buffers, potentially exposing sensitive data including memory addresses that can be used to defeat ASLR. 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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Check if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installedOn Windows, open Programs and Features or check the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC). On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader apps.Affected if Either Adobe Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader is present on the system
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Determine the installed version numberOn Windows, right-click the application in Programs and Features and select Properties, or run the application and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader. On macOS, right-click the app in Applications and select Get Info, or open the app and go to Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat > About.Affected if A version number is retrieved from the installed Adobe software
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Compare version against 2023.x affected rangeCompare the installed version to the following vulnerable range: 15.008.20082 through 23.003.20244 (for Dc products) or 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30467 (for classic products). Any version in these ranges is affected.Affected if The installed version falls within 15.008.20082 to 23.003.20244 (Dc products) or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30467 (classic products)
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Verify if JavaScript is enabled in the applicationIn Adobe Reader/Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript and check if Enable Adobe JavaScript is checked. Alternatively, check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\ProductName\Version\FeatureLockdown\bDisableJavaScript (1=disabled, 0=enabled).Affected if JavaScript is enabled - while the vulnerability exists in the version regardless, JavaScript is a common attack vector for PDF-based exploits
A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed with a version between 15.008.20082 and 23.003.20244 (for 2023.x) or between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30467 (for 2020.x), and the application processes untrusted 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 beyond 23.003.20244 and 20.005.30467, or apply the vendor-supplied patches. Organizations should deploy patches via enterprise patch management and consider disabling JavaScript in Reader as an additional defense-in-depth measure.
Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 23.003.20269 or later; Acrobat 2020/Reader 2020: 20.005.30516 or later
- 1. Identify the installed Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader version by opening the application, selecting Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat).
- 2. For Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader DC users: Upgrade to version 23.003.20269 or later by navigating to Help > Check for Updates and following the prompts, or download the latest version from the Adobe website.
- 3. For Acrobat 2020 or Acrobat Reader 2020 users: Upgrade to version 20.005.30516 or later (or the latest 20.x release) from the Adobe website.
- 4. After upgrading, verify the new version by checking Help > About to confirm the installation was successful.
- 5. Ensure users are cautioned to avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources, as exploitation requires user interaction.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
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- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38241 — 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-2023-38241 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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