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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-38247

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

This is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader where a maliciously crafted PDF file can cause the application to read memory outside intended bounds, potentially leaking sensitive information and aiding in bypassing security mitigations like ASLR. Exploitation requires user interaction—specifically, the victim must open a specially crafted PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to the latest version beyond 23.003.20244 or 20.005.30467. Additionally, implement controls to prevent users from opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.

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. Identify installed Adobe product
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number appears in the title bar or dialog.
    Affected if Any version of Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, Acrobat Dc, Acrobat, or Acrobat Reader is installed
  2. Locate the version number in system
    On Windows, check the executable properties: right-click on the Acrobat/Reader executable (e.g., AcroRd32.exe or AcroExe.exe), select Properties, and view the Details tab for Product Version. On macOS, right-click the application, select Get Info, and view the Version field.
    Affected if Unable to determine version number from the application UI
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Compare your installed version to these vulnerable ranges: Acrobat Dc/Reader Dc: 15.008.20082 through 23.003.20268; Acrobat/Reader 20.x: 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30516.10516 (excluding 20.005.30467+). Note that version 20.005.30514.10514 and above in the 20.x branch are fixed.
    Affected if Installed version falls within any of the affected version ranges (15.008.20082 <= version < 23.003.20269 for DC; 20.001.30005 <= version < 20.005.30516.10516 for 20.x)
  4. Confirm PDF handling capability
    Verify the application can open PDF files (this is the default functionality). The vulnerability triggers when opening a specially crafted PDF, so any installation that can open PDFs is potentially affected if the version is vulnerable.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed and can open PDF documents

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version number between 15.008.20082 and 23.003.20268 (DC versions) or between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30516.10516 (20.x versions), and the application can open PDF files.

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 version beyond 23.003.20244 or 20.005.30467. Additionally, implement controls to prevent users from opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader DC: version 23.003.20269 or later | Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2020 (Classic): version 20.005.30516 or later

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat on your system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat)
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for available updates
  4. 4. If an update is available, download and install the latest version
  5. 5. Alternatively, download the latest version manually from the official Adobe website: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
  6. 6. Restart the application after installation
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release
Caveat Standard update; minor version increments typically contain security fixes without breaking functionality

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
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2023-38247 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