CVE-2025-27164
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 24.001.30225, 20.005.30748, 25.001.20428 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. 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 an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that allows reading beyond allocated memory boundaries. This can leak sensitive memory contents including addresses that can be used to bypass ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization). Exploitation requires a victim to open a 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, < 20.005.30763>= 24.0.0, < 24.001.30235>= 15.008.20082, < 25.001.20432>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30763>= 15.008.20082, < 25.001.20432CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 installedCheck for Adobe Acrobat Reader installation by locating the executable. On Windows, look for the program at typical paths like C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Acrobat\Acrobat.exe or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\Reader\AcroRd32.exe. On macOS, check /Applications/Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.app.Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is found on the system
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Determine installed version numberOpen Adobe Acrobat Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat for the full product). Alternatively, right-click the executable file, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the Version Information. On Windows, you can also query the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\DC\Version.Affected if The version displayed cannot be compared to the affected ranges (unknown or not found)
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Compare version against affected rangesUsing the version number obtained from the previous step, determine if it falls within any of these vulnerable ranges: Acrobat/Reader 20.x versions 20.001.30002 through 20.005.30762; Acrobat/Reader 24.x versions 24.0.0 through 24.001.30234; Acrobat/Reader Dc 15.x versions 15.008.20082 through 25.001.20431. Compare your full version string including the 3-digit suffix.Affected if Your installed version is greater than or equal to 20.001.30002 but less than 20.005.30763, OR greater than or equal to 24.0.0 but less than 24.001.30235, OR greater than or equal to 15.008.20082 but less than 25.001.20432
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Confirm PDF handling is enabledVerify that Adobe Acrobat Reader is configured as the default PDF handler or that users can open PDF files within the application. The vulnerability triggers when parsing a malicious PDF file, so any configuration that allows PDF file opening is sufficient for exploitation.Affected if PDF files can be opened or processed by Adobe Acrobat Reader on the system
A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is installed with a version matching any of the vulnerable version ranges and the application can open 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 · scoped20.005.3076324.001.3023525.001.20432
Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to the latest version (25.001.20433 or later for the 25.x line, 24.001.30226 or later for the 24.x line, and 20.005.30749 or later for the 20.x line). Consider implementing controls to restrict opening of untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.
24.001.30235 for 24.x versions; 20.005.30763 for 20.x versions; 25.001.20432 for Acrobat Dc/Reader Dc versions
- 1. Close all Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader instances currently running on the system
- 2. Navigate to the official Adobe download page at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ or use your organization's software distribution system
- 3. Download the appropriate installer for your product version: For Acrobat/Reader 24.x, download version 24.001.30235 or later; For Acrobat/Reader 20.x, download version 20.005.30763 or later; For Acrobat Dc/Reader Dc, download version 25.001.20432 or later
- 4. Run the installer with administrator privileges
- 5. Follow the on-screen installation prompts
- 6. Restart the computer if prompted
- 7. After installation, verify the version by opening Adobe Acrobat/Reader and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat) to confirm the installed version matches the patched release
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-27164 — 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-2025-27164 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data