CVE-2023-38248
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 · moderate confidenceAdobe Acrobat Reader contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that allows disclosure of sensitive memory content. An attacker can exploit this by crafting a malicious PDF file that, when opened by a victim, enables memory disclosure and potentially bypasses ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) security mitigations.
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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Verify Adobe Acrobat installationCheck if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed on the system. On Windows, inspect the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Adobe for product entries. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader apps.Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is not installed on the system, then the vulnerability does not apply.
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Determine installed version on WindowsOpen Windows Control Panel and navigate to Programs and Features, or right-click the Adobe Acrobat/Reader shortcut and select Properties, then look at the Details tab to find the Version field. Alternatively, query the registry: reg query 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat\Distro\[version]' /v Version on Windows.Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected ranges provided (Acrobat Dc >= 15.008.20082 and < 23.003.20269; Acrobat Reader Dc >= 15.008.20082 and < 23.003.20269; Acrobat/Reader 20.x >= 20.001.30005 and < 20.005.30516.10516, or >= 20.001.30005 and < 20.005.30514.10514).
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Determine installed version on macOSOpen the Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader application from the /Applications folder. Click the application menu (the app name next to the Apple logo) and select About Adobe Acrobat or About Adobe Acrobat Reader to display the version number.Affected if The displayed version matches any of the affected version ranges listed for the applicable product.
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Confirm vulnerability scopeReview the specific version range that applies to your product. Note that versions prior to 15.008.20082 and versions at or above 23.003.20269 for DC products are not affected. For 20.x products, versions at or above 20.005.30516.10516 and versions at or above 20.005.30514.10514 are not affected, while versions between 20.001.30005 and those thresholds are vulnerable.Affected if Your installed version is greater than or equal to 15.008.20082 but less than 23.003.20269 (for DC), or falls within the 20.x ranges specified, indicating the out-of-bounds read vulnerability is present.
If Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is installed and the version falls within any of the specified affected ranges, the environment is potentially vulnerable to the CVE-2023-38248 out-of-bounds read flaw.
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 (for 23.x) or 20.005.30467 (for 20.x). Additionally, consider implementing controls to restrict opening PDF files from untrusted sources, as exploitation requires user interaction.
Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 23.003.20269 or later | Acrobat/Reader 2020: 20.005.30516 or later
- Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader application
- Navigate to the Help menu
- Select 'Check for Updates' or 'Download Updates'
- Follow the on-screen prompts to download and install the latest version
- Restart the application after the update completes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38248 — 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-2023-38248 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