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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-44359

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 a Use After Free vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution 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

Adobe Acrobat Reader contains a Use After Free (UAF) vulnerability in versions 23.006.20360 and earlier (2023 track) and 20.005.30524 and earlier (2020 track). The UAF occurs when the application continues to use a memory pointer after the associated memory has been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to manipulate heap memory and achieve arbitrary code execution. Exploitation requires the victim to open a specially crafted malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to the latest patched version as provided by Adobe's security bulletin. Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources as a secondary defense layer.

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
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or Help > About Adobe Acrobat for Pro version). Alternatively, open Control Panel > Programs and Features and locate Adobe Acrobat/Reader in the installed programs list.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed on the system
  2. Determine the exact version number
    Note the full version number displayed in the About dialog (for example: 23.006.20360 or 20.005.30524). The version format is XX.XXX.XXXXX.
    Affected if A version number is displayed and it matches the product ranges listed in the CVE
  3. Compare version against affected 2023 track range
    Check if the version falls within: 15.008.20082 to 23.006.20379 (inclusive). If the version is less than 23.006.20380 and greater than or equal to 15.008.20082, the installation is vulnerable.
    Affected if Version is >= 15.008.20082 AND < 23.006.20380 for Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC
  4. Compare version against affected 2020 track range
    Check if the version falls within: 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30538 (inclusive). If the version is less than 20.005.30539 and greater than or equal to 20.001.30005, the installation is vulnerable.
    Affected if Version is >= 20.001.30005 AND < 20.005.30539 for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (non-DC)
  5. Confirm the application handles PDF files
    The vulnerability is triggerable when the application opens a malicious PDF. Verify that the installed Adobe product is configured to handle PDF file associations or is used to open PDF documents.
    Affected if The product is used to open or process PDF files, which is the default behavior for Acrobat Reader

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number that falls within the vulnerable ranges: 15.008.20082 to 23.006.20379 (2023 track) or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30538 (2020 track).

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 the latest patched version as provided by Adobe's security bulletin. Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources as a secondary defense layer.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 23.006.20380+ | Adobe Acrobat 2020/Reader 2020: 20.005.30539+

  1. 1. Verify the current Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat
  2. 2. For Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader DC (Continuous track): Upgrade to version 23.006.20380 or later
  3. 3. For Adobe Acrobat 2020/Reader 2020 (Classic track): Upgrade to version 20.005.30539 or later
  4. 4. Download the appropriate update from the official Adobe Security Bulletins page at helpx.adobe.com/security.html or use the built-in Help > Check for Updates feature
  5. 5. Restart the application after installation
  6. 6. Verify the version has been updated by checking Help > About again
Caveat Standard Adobe update; ensure compatibility with existing PDF workflows and plugins before deploying enterprise-wide

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2023-44359 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