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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2024-39424

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.005.30655 / 24.001.30159 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 20.005.30636, 24.002.20965, 24.002.20964, 24.001.30123 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

Adobe Acrobat Reader contains a Use After Free vulnerability where memory is accessed after it has been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability is triggered when a victim opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file, and execution occurs within the context of the current user's privileges.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a patched version beyond 24.002.20965/24.002.20964/24.001.30123 or 20.005.30636. Users should avoid opening untrusted PDF files until the update is applied.

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:>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30655>= 24.001.20604, < 24.001.30159
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, < 24.002.21005
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.3005, < 20.005.30655
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, < 24.002.21005

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 installation
    On Windows, check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\InstallPath or look in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Reader. On macOS, check /Applications/Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.app
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader is not installed on the system
  2. Retrieve installed version number
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader, or check the version in the application properties. On Windows, also query registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\InstallVersion
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or the product is not found
  3. Compare version against affected ranges for Reader
    Compare your installed version to these vulnerable ranges: Reader 20.x versions from 20.001.3005 up to 20.005.30654 (excluding 20.005.30655); Reader DC versions from 15.008.20082 up to 24.002.21004 (excluding 24.002.21005)
    Affected if Your installed version falls within or overlaps any of these ranges: 20.001.3005 - 20.005.30654, or 15.008.20082 - 24.002.21004
  4. Compare version against affected ranges for Acrobat (if installed)
    If Adobe Acrobat (not Reader) is installed, compare its version to: 20.001.30005 - 20.005.30654, or 24.001.20604 - 24.001.30158
    Affected if Acrobat is installed and its version falls within these vulnerable ranges
  5. Confirm exploitability context
    Note that this vulnerability requires a user to open a specially crafted malicious PDF file. Check if users in your environment routinely open PDF attachments or files from untrusted sources
    Affected if Users open PDF files from unknown or untrusted sources without prior validation

Your environment is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat is installed and the installed version falls within any of the vulnerable version ranges listed above.

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 20.005.30655 / 24.001.30159 / 24.002.21005 or later
Fixed in 20.005.3065524.001.3015924.002.21005
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a patched version beyond 24.002.20965/24.002.20964/24.001.30123 or 20.005.30636. Users should avoid opening untrusted PDF files until the update is applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 20.005.30655 or later for Classic track; 24.001.30159 or later for 2024 track; 24.002.21005 or later for Continuous track

  1. 1. Identify the exact Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version installed by opening the application, going to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
  2. 2. Navigate to the Adobe Acrobat security bulletins page (helpx.adobe.com) to obtain the latest patched version for your product track
  3. 3. Download the appropriate installer for your version (Acrobat Standard, Acrobat Pro, or Acrobat Reader)
  4. 4. Close all Adobe applications and any browser instances that may have PDF plugins loaded
  5. 5. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
  6. 6. After installation, verify the version has been updated to one of the fixed releases: 20.005.30655+, 24.001.30159+, or 24.002.21005+ depending on your product track
  7. 7. Restart any Adobe applications and confirm the update was successful by checking Help > About
Caveat Standard Adobe update - minimal risk; ensure backup of critical PDFs before updating as a precaution

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-2024-39424 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