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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2024-30279

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.005.30635 / 20.005.30636 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
Acrobat Reader versions 20.005.30574, 24.002.20736 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds write 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 · moderate confidence

Adobe Acrobat Reader contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that can be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution. Attackers must persuade users to open specially crafted PDF files, which triggers the memory corruption. Successful exploitation grants code execution within the current user's context.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 20.005.30575 or later (for 20.x branch) and 24.002.20737 or later (for 24.x branch). Avoid opening untrusted PDF documents 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:>= 15.007.20033, < 24.002.20759
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.007.20033, < 24.002.20759
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30635>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30636
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30635>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30636

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. Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Check for the application in Program Files (Windows) or /Applications (Mac). On Windows, also check registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries containing 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe Reader'.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version number
    Open Adobe Acrobat/Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Alternatively, on Windows right-click the executable (e.g., AcroRd32.exe or AcroTray.exe) in Program Files and select Properties > Details to view the File Version.
    Affected if The displayed version falls within any of the affected ranges: 15.007.20033 through 24.002.20758 inclusive, or 20.001.30002 through 20.005.30634 inclusive for the 20.x branch versions.
  3. Compare your version against affected ranges
    If you have version 24.x, ensure it is 24.002.20759 or higher. For version 20.x, ensure it is 20.005.30635 or 20.005.30636 or higher depending on product type. For version 15.x, ensure it is 24.002.20759 or higher to be safe.
    Affected if Your installed version is lower than 24.002.20759 (for DC/Reader DC 24.x) or lower than 20.005.30635/20.005.30636 (for 20.x versions), indicating you are running a vulnerable version.
  4. Confirm the attack surface exists
    Review whether the system routinely opens PDF files from email attachments, web downloads, or other untrusted sources. Check if the Adobe PDF browser plug-in is enabled in web browsers, as this can trigger exploits when viewing PDFs in-browser.
    Affected if Users on this system open PDF documents from unknown or untrusted sources, or the PDF browser plug-in is enabled, creating a path for the specially crafted PDF to be processed.

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version between 15.007.20033 and 24.002.20758 (or 20.x versions below 20.005.30635/20.005.30636) AND users on the system open PDFs from untrusted sources.

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 20.005.30635 / 20.005.30636 / 24.002.20759 or later
Fixed in 20.005.3063520.005.3063624.002.20759
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 20.005.30575 or later (for 20.x branch) and 24.002.20737 or later (for 24.x branch). Avoid opening untrusted PDF documents from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: upgrade to version 24.002.20759 or later | Acrobat/Reader 2020 (Classic): upgrade to version 20.005.30635 (20.x track) or 20.005.30636 (2020 track)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader on the affected system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or use the Help menu in Reader)
  3. 3. Allow Adobe to check for and download the latest updates
  4. 4. Alternatively, download the latest version directly from Adobe's official website at get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat
  5. 5. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. 6. Restart the application after the update completes
  7. 7. Verify the installed version by navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat)
Caveat Standard Adobe update includes security fixes and may include new features or minor UI changes; review Adobe release notes for details

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2024-30279 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