CVE-2024-41869
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 24.002.21005, 24.001.30159, 20.005.30655, 24.003.20054 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 confidenceThis is a Use After Free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader that allows arbitrary code execution when a victim opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file. The vulnerability occurs because the application continues using a pointer to memory that has been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to control memory allocation and execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user.
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< 20.005.30680>= 24.001.0, < 24.001.30187>= 24.003.0, < 24.003.20112< 20.005.30680>= 24.003.0, < 24.003.20112CVSS 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.
-
Check if Adobe Acrobat Reader is installedOn Windows, check for the presence of Adobe Acrobat Reader in the installed programs list (Control Panel > Programs and Features) or look for the installation directory typically at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader is found on the system
-
Determine the installed version of Adobe Acrobat ReaderRight-click on the Adobe Acrobat Reader executable (e.g., AcroRd32.exe or AcroRd64.exe) in the installation folder, select Properties, and view the Details tab to see the File Version. Alternatively, open Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader to display the version number.Affected if A version number is displayed that can be compared against affected ranges
-
Compare version against affected ranges for Adobe Acrobat ReaderCompare your installed version to the following affected ranges: < 20.005.30680 OR >= 24.003.0, < 24.003.20112Affected if The installed version is less than 20.005.30680, OR is between 24.003.0 and 24.003.20111 inclusive
-
Check for Adobe Acrobat (full version) installationOn Windows, check Programs and Features for Adobe Acrobat (not Reader) or look for installation at C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Affected if Adobe Acrobat (the full commercial version, not Reader) is installed on the system
-
Compare Adobe Acrobat version against affected rangesDetermine the version of Adobe Acrobat (if installed) by right-clicking the executable (e.g., AcroCEF.exe or Acrobat.exe) and viewing the File Version in Properties, then compare to affected ranges: < 20.005.30680 OR >= 24.001.0, < 24.001.30187Affected if The installed Adobe Acrobat version is less than 20.005.30680, OR is between 24.001.0 and 24.001.30186 inclusive
A user is affected if they have an installed version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat that falls within any of the affected version ranges and they open untrusted PDF files.
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 · scoped20.005.3068024.001.3018724.003.20112
Organizations should deploy the vendor patches for affected Adobe Acrobat Reader versions and consider implementing endpoint protection that monitors for suspicious PDF behavior. User awareness training to avoid opening untrusted PDF files provides an additional layer of defense.
20.005.30680 (for 20.x branch) | 24.001.30187 (for 24.001.x branch) | 24.003.20112 (for 24.003.x branch)
- 1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader)
- 2. Identify which version branch is currently installed (20.x, 24.001.x, or 24.003.x)
- 3. For version 20.x: upgrade to version 20.005.30680 or later
- 4. For version 24.001.x: upgrade to version 24.001.30187 or later
- 5. For version 24.003.x: upgrade to version 24.003.20112 or later
- 6. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Adobe Acrobat download page at get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat
- 7. Close all running Adobe applications before installing the update
- 8. Install the security update and restart the application
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $3,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-41869 — 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-2024-41869 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
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.
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.
- 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