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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2025-43574

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.005.30774 / 24.001.30254 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 24.001.30235, 20.005.30763, 25.001.20521 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 in its PDF rendering engine. When processing a specially crafted PDF file, the application frees memory that it still references, allowing an attacker to manipulate the freed memory and potentially execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the current user.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Adobe for Acrobat Reader. Until patched, advise users not to open untrusted PDF files from 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:>= 15.008.20082, < 25.001.20531>= 15.008.20082, < 25.001.20529
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, < 25.001.20531>= 15.008.20082, < 25.001.20529
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30774>= 24.0.0, < 24.001.30254
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30774

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. Confirm Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    On Windows, check Start menu for Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat entries, or look in C:\Program Files\Adobe or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe. On Mac, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is present on the system
  2. Identify the installed version number
    Open the application, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number displays in the dialog box.
    Affected if The displayed version matches one of the affected version ranges provided
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Check if your version falls within any of these ranges: Acrobat Dc/Reader Dc: >= 15.008.20082 and < 25.001.20531 (or < 25.001.20529 depending on update channel); Acrobat/Reader: >= 20.001.30002 and < 20.005.30774; Acrobat: >= 24.0.0 and < 24.001.30254
    Affected if Your installed version is greater than or equal to 15.008.20082 and less than the patched version for your product line

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number within the affected ranges and users open PDF files, since the vulnerability triggers during PDF processing.

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 20.005.30774 / 24.001.30254 / 25.001.20529 or later
Fixed in 20.005.3077424.001.3025425.001.20529
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from Adobe for Acrobat Reader. Until patched, advise users not to open untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 25.001.20531+ | Acrobat 2024: 24.001.30254+ | Acrobat 2020: 20.005.30774+

  1. 1. Identify the installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat).
  2. 2. Based on your current version, download the corresponding fixed release from the official Adobe download page at get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat.
  3. 3. For Acrobat DC/Acrobat Reader DC (continuous track): Upgrade to version 25.001.20531 or later.
  4. 4. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 2024 (classic track): Upgrade to version 24.001.30254 or later.
  5. 5. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 2020 (classic track): Upgrade to version 20.005.30774 or later.
  6. 6. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader before running the installer.
  7. 7. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade.
  8. 8. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About to confirm the fixed version is installed.
Caveat Standard Adobe update carries minimal risk; ensure regular backup of PDF documents and preferences

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-2025-43574 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