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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-44337

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.005.30539 / 23.006.20380 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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 23.006.20360 (and earlier) and 20.005.30524 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing a crafted file, which could result in a read past the end of an allocated memory structure. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current user. 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

Out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader during parsing of crafted files, allowing an attacker to read past the end of allocated memory structures and potentially execute code in the context of the current user. Requires victim to open a malicious file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 23.006.20360 (for 2023) or 20.005.30524 (for 2020), and warn users against opening files from untrusted 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, < 23.006.20380
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, < 23.006.20380
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30539
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30539

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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 Acrobat or Reader product
    On Windows, check Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat Reader, or on macOS check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader.app
    Affected if No Adobe Acrobat or Reader product is installed on the system
  2. Determine installed version number
    Locate the installed product and read its version - on Windows via the application's Help > About menu, or check the version in the Registry or file properties of the main executable (e.g., AcroRd32.exe or Acrofx.exe)
    Affected if Unable to determine version number from the installed product
  3. Compare version to affected 2023 track (DC) range
    If the product is Acrobat DC or Reader DC (2023 track), verify if version falls between 15.008.20082 and 23.006.20379 inclusive
    Affected if Version is 15.008.20082 or higher but lower than 23.006.20380
  4. Compare version to affected 2020 track range
    If the product is Acrobat 2020 or Reader 2020, verify if version falls between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30538 (Reader) or 20.005.30539 (Acrobat) inclusive
    Affected if Version is 20.001.30005 or higher but lower than 20.005.30540 (for Reader) or 20.005.30540 (for Acrobat)

The system is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is installed with a version matching the 2023 track (15.008.20082 to 23.006.20379) or 2020 track (20.001.30005 to 20.005.30538/20.005.30539) ranges.

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 20.005.30539 / 23.006.20380 or later
Fixed in 20.005.3053923.006.20380
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 23.006.20360 (for 2023) or 20.005.30524 (for 2020), and warn users against opening files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 23.006.20380 or later; Acrobat 2020/Reader 2020: 20.005.30540 or later

  1. 1. Identify the installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application, then navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat).
  2. 2. For Acrobat DC/Reader DC users: If version is 23.x and less than 23.006.20380, download and install version 23.006.20380 or later from the official Adobe website.
  3. 3. For Acrobat 2020/Reader 2020 users: If version is 20.x and less than 20.005.30540, download and install version 20.005.30540 or later from the official Adobe website.
  4. 4. Verify the update was successful by checking the version number again in Help > About.
  5. 5. Ensure users do not open untrusted PDF files until the update is applied, as exploitation requires user interaction with a malicious file.
Caveat Standard Adobe update - minimal risk; ensure user sessions are closed during installation

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-44337 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