CVE-2024-30301
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 · uneditedAcrobat Reader versions 20.005.30539, 23.008.20470 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 confidenceAdobe Acrobat Reader contains a Use After Free vulnerability where the application attempts to access memory that has already been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to control the freed memory and execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires the victim to open a specially crafted 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>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30574>= 15.007.20033, < 23.008.20533>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30574>= 15.007.20033, < 23.008.20533CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Adobe Acrobat Reader is installedOpen Windows Settings > Apps & Features or macOS Applications folder and look for 'Adobe Acrobat Reader' or 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC'. On Windows, you can also run 'Get-ItemProperty' in PowerShell for the installation directory.Affected if The application is present on the system
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Identify the product variantDetermine if the installed product is 'Adobe Acrobat Reader' (classic) or 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC' (Modern). The DC variant is typically labeled with 'DC' in the name.Affected if The variant is Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (both are affected)
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Find the installed version numberIn Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader. On Windows, you can also right-click the executable in the installation folder and view Properties > Details, or use the registry key under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\Reader\<version>Affected if A version number is displayed or found in the system
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Compare against affected version rangesCheck if the installed version falls within: 20.001.30002 to 20.005.30574 (for 20.x branch), or 15.007.20033 to 23.008.20533 (for DC variants). Version 23.x DC versions below 23.008.20533 are affected.Affected if The installed version is greater than or equal to the lower bound AND less than the upper bound for your branch (20.x branch: >= 20.001.30002 and < 20.005.30574; DC: >= 15.007.20033 and < 23.008.20533)
A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed with a version number that falls within the vulnerable ranges, making them susceptible if they open a specially crafted malicious PDF file.
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 · scoped20.005.3057423.008.20533
Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to version 20.005.30540 or later for the 20.x branch, and 23.008.20471 or later for the 23.x branch. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.
Upgrade to Acrobat/Acrobat Reader version 20.005.30574 or later (20.x track), or version 23.008.20533 or later (23.x track)
- Close all running Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader instances
- Navigate to the official Adobe download page at helpx.adobe.com or use the Help > Check for Updates feature within the application
- Download the appropriate installer for your product (Acrobat or Acrobat Reader) matching your platform (Windows or macOS)
- Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
- After installation, launch the application and verify the version by navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat for the Pro version)
- Confirm the installed version meets or exceeds 20.005.30574 (for version 20.x track) or 23.008.20533 (for version 23.x track)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $4,880.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-30301 — 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-2024-30301 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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