dbcve.org
Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2024-34098

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-15
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 Improper Input Validation 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 an improper input validation vulnerability that allows arbitrary code execution when a victim opens a specially crafted malicious file. Since exploitation occurs in the context of the current user, an attacker gains the same privileges as the logged-on user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a patched version beyond 20.005.30574 and 24.002.20736. Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted or 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. Identify installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader
    Check for Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader in the installed programs list (Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or macOS Applications folder)
    Affected if Any of these products are installed on the system
  2. Retrieve the installed version number
    Open Adobe Acrobat/Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat) to display the exact version number. On Windows, you can also check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat\Install\Version for the version value.
    Affected if A version number is displayed that can be compared against the affected ranges
  3. Compare version against affected ranges for DC products
    For Adobe Acrobat DC or Reader DC, compare your version to: version < 15.007.20033 (not affected) or version >= 15.007.20033 and < 24.002.20759 (affected). If your DC version starts with 24.x and is below 24.002.20759, you are in the affected range.
    Affected if Installed DC version falls between 15.007.20033 and 24.002.20759 (inclusive of lower bound, exclusive of upper bound)
  4. Compare version against affected ranges for legacy Acrobat products
    For Adobe Acrobat or Reader (non-DC), compare your version to: version >= 20.001.30002 and < 20.005.30635, or version >= 20.001.30002 and < 20.005.30636. Note both ranges apply for different update channels.
    Affected if Installed version starts with 20.x and is below 20.005.30635 or 20.005.30636 depending on the update track

If Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version that falls within any of the specified vulnerable ranges, the environment is affected when opening specially crafted PDF files.

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 a patched version beyond 20.005.30574 and 24.002.20736. Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader Continuous track: 24.002.20759 or later; Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 2020 track: 20.005.30635 (Acrobat) or 20.005.30636 (Acrobat Reader) or later

  1. 1. Identify the current Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat).
  2. 2. Determine which track your installation belongs to: Continuous (versions like 24.x) or 2020 (versions like 20.x).
  3. 3. For Continuous track users: Download and install version 24.002.20759 or later from the Adobe Acrobat download page.
  4. 4. For 2020 track users: Download and install version 20.005.30635 (Acrobat) or 20.005.30636 (Acrobat Reader) or later from the Adobe Acrobat download page.
  5. 5. Verify the installation completed successfully by checking the version in Help > About.
  6. 6. Ensure users are warned not to open untrusted PDF files from unknown sources, as exploitation requires user interaction.
Caveat Standard version upgrade - no significant breaking changes expected for security patches; ensure compatibility with any existing plugins or workflows

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-34098 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2024-34098 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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