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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2024-30305

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.005.30574 / 23.008.20533 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 20.005.30539, 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 confidence

This is a Use After Free memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader. A Use After Free occurs when a program continues to use memory after it has been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to manipulate memory layout and achieve arbitrary code execution. The vulnerability is triggered when a victim opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 23.008.20470 (for version 23.x) or 20.005.30539 (for version 20.x). Until patched, avoid opening PDF 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
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30574
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.007.20033, < 23.008.20533
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30574
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.007.20033, < 23.008.20533

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 Reader is installed
    Check for the application in the Windows Start Menu, Program Files directory (C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader), or by opening the application.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat DC 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 for Pro version). The version number displayed in the dialog is what you need.
    Affected if The version displayed is within the affected ranges
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    For version 20.x, check if the version is >= 20.001.30002 and < 20.005.30574. For version 15.x through 23.x (Classic and Continuous tracks), check if the version is >= 15.007.20033 and < 23.008.20533.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of the listed vulnerable ranges
  4. Identify the product edition
    Confirm whether you have Acrobat Reader DC (Continuous) or Acrobat Reader (Classic) by checking the application name in the Start Menu or About dialog. The version numbering differs between editions.
    Affected if The edition and version combination matches the vulnerable ranges for that track

If Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat DC is installed and the version falls within >= 20.001.30002 to < 20.005.30574 (20.x) or >= 15.007.20033 to < 23.008.20533 (15.x-23.x), the environment is affected by this Use After Free vulnerability.

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 20.005.30574 / 23.008.20533 or later
Fixed in 20.005.3057423.008.20533
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 23.008.20470 (for version 23.x) or 20.005.30539 (for version 20.x). Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 20.005.30574 or later; Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 23.008.20533 or later

  1. 1. Close all Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader instances
  2. 2. Back up any important PDF files as a precaution
  3. 3. Navigate to the Adobe Acrobat download page or use your organization's software distribution method
  4. 4. Download the appropriate installer for your product version (Acrobat or Acrobat Reader, 32-bit or 64-bit)
  5. 5. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. 6. Restart your computer if prompted
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release (20.005.30574 for version 20.x or 23.008.20533 for version 23.x)
Caveat Standard security update with no expected breaking changes; legacy functionality remains intact

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

Fix this in Acrobat 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-2024-30305 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