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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-38243

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 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 confidence

This is a Use-After-Free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader affecting versions 23.003.20244 and earlier, and 20.005.30467 and earlier. The vulnerability allows an attacker to read sensitive memory contents and potentially bypass ASLR security mitigations. Exploitation requires a victim to open a specially crafted malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to the latest patched version as specified in Adobe security bulletins. Additionally, implement defense-in-depth controls such as email filtering for suspicious attachments and endpoint detection solutions to block malicious file execution.

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. Locate installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader
    On Windows, check Add/Remove Programs or inspect Program Files folders (C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat Reader) for the application. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is installed on the system
  2. Identify the exact installed version number
    In Windows, right-click the application in Add/Remove Programs and select Properties to view the version, or run the executable with /version flag if supported. On macOS, right-click the app in Applications and select Get Info to see the version.
    Affected if The version number cannot be determined or the software is present but version is unknown
  3. Compare against vulnerable 2023 version range
    Compare your installed version (e.g., from the About dialog in the application or installer) against the range: versions 15.008.20082 through 23.003.20244 are vulnerable. Versions 23.003.20269 and later are patched.
    Affected if Installed version is 23.003.20244 or earlier, or between 15.008.20082 and 23.003.20268 (for 2023 track)
  4. Compare against vulnerable 2020 version range
    Compare your installed version against the range: versions 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30467 are vulnerable in the 2020 track. Also check specific build numbers: <= 20.005.30516.10516 or < 20.005.30514.10514.
    Affected if Installed version is between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30467 inclusive, or matches the specific vulnerable build patterns for 2020 track

The system is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is installed with a version matching any of the vulnerable ranges (15.008.20082 to 23.003.20244 for 2023 track, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30467 for 2020 track) AND a specially crafted malicious PDF file is opened.

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 the latest patched version as specified in Adobe security bulletins. Additionally, implement defense-in-depth controls such as email filtering for suspicious attachments and endpoint detection solutions to block malicious file execution.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC/Acrobat DC: version 23.003.20269 or later; Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2020: version 20.005.30516 or later (or migrate to DC track 23.003.20269+)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat on your system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or use the Help menu)
  3. 3. Allow Adobe to check for available updates
  4. 4. If an update is available, review the update details to confirm it addresses the security vulnerability
  5. 5. Download and install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat
  6. 6. Restart the application after installation completes
  7. 7. Verify the installed version by going to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat)
Caveat Standard minor version upgrade with no expected breaking changes; ensure you back up any custom settings or plugins before updating

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2023-38243 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