CVE-2023-38244
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 that allows disclosure of sensitive memory contents when a user opens a malicious PDF file. This memory disclosure can be leveraged by attackers to bypass ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) mitigations, potentially enabling more severe follow-on exploits.
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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Locate installed Adobe Acrobat Reader executableCheck the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\) for the executable (AcroRd32.exe or AcroCEF.exe)Affected if The executable exists on the system, indicating Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed
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Determine Adobe Acrobat Reader versionRight-click the Adobe Acrobat Reader executable, select Properties, and view the Version tab; alternatively, open Adobe Acrobat Reader and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader to see the exact version numberAffected if The version displayed matches an affected version range
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Compare version against affected rangesVerify if the installed version falls within: versions 15.008.20082 through 23.003.20268 (for DC/Reader DC), versions 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30516.10516, or versions 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30514.10513 (for classic Acrobat/Reader)Affected if The installed version is greater than or equal to 15.008.20082 and less than 23.003.20269, OR greater than or equal to 20.001.30005 and less than 23.003.20269, placing it within the vulnerable range
If Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed and its version falls within the affected ranges (15.008.20082 to 23.003.20268, or 20.001.30005 to the specified upper bounds), the environment is vulnerable to memory disclosure when processing malicious 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 a version newer than 23.003.20244 or 20.005.30467. Organizations should deploy patches through their patch management infrastructure and advise users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files.
Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 23.003.20269 or later; Acrobat/Reader 20.x: 20.005.30516.10516 or later
- 1. Identify the installed Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader version from the Help > About menu
- 2. For Acrobat DC/Acrobat Reader DC users: Navigate to https://get.adobe.com/reader/ or use Adobe's automatic update feature to obtain version 23.003.20269 or later
- 3. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 20.x users: Obtain version 20.005.30516.10516 or later from Adobe's support site
- 4. Download the appropriate installer for your system (Windows or macOS)
- 5. Close all Adobe applications and any applications that use PDF functionality
- 6. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the update
- 7. Restart your computer after the update completes
- 8. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release by checking Help > About
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-2023-38244 — 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-2023-38244 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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