CVE-2023-44361
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 23.006.20360 (and earlier) and 20.005.30524 (and earlier) are affected by a Use After Free 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 confidenceA Use After Free (UAF) vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader allows an attacker to read sensitive memory contents after memory has been freed. This can potentially leak memory addresses enabling ASLR bypass. Exploitation requires user interaction—victim must open a malicious PDF file.
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, < 23.006.20380>= 15.008.20082, < 23.006.20380>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30539>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30539CVSS 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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Identify Adobe Acrobat Reader installationOpen Adobe Acrobat Reader and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader, or right-click the executable and select Properties > Details to view the version numberAffected if The installed version matches the affected ranges (15.008.20082 to 23.006.20379 for 23.x, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30538 for 20.x)
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Compare version to affected rangesNote the full version number (for example, 22.001.20085 or 20.005.30524) and compare it against the vulnerable ranges: 15.008.20082 <= version < 23.006.20380 OR 20.001.30005 <= version < 20.005.30539Affected if The installed version falls within either 15.008.20082 through 23.006.20379 (inclusive) or 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30538 (inclusive)
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Verify if updates are availableIn Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to Help > Check for Updates to see if a newer version is offered, or check the Adobe product version catalogAffected if No patch is available or the installed version remains within the vulnerable range after checking for updates
If the installed Adobe Acrobat Reader version is 15.008.20082 or higher but below 23.006.20380 (for 23.x track) or 20.001.30005 or higher but below 20.005.30539 (for 20.x track), the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 · scoped20.005.3053923.006.20380
Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 23.006.20361 or later (for 23.x) or 20.005.30525 or later (for 20.x). Warn users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files until patches are applied.
Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 23.006.20380 or later | Adobe Acrobat/Reader 2020 (Classic): 20.005.30524 or later
- 1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat)
- 2. For DC (Continuous) track users: Navigate to Help > Check for Updates and install version 23.006.20380 or later, or download from the official Adobe website
- 3. For 2020 Classic track users: Navigate to Help > Check for Updates and install version 20.005.30524 or later, or download from the official Adobe website
- 4. Alternatively, download the appropriate fixed version directly from helpx.adobe.com for your specific product track
- 5. Restart the application after updating
- 6. Verify the updated version by checking Help > About to confirm the installation was successful
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-44361 — 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-2023-44361 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
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