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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2026-27221

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 24.001.30356 / 25.001.21288 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 24.001.30307, 24.001.30308, 25.001.21265 and earlier are affected by an Improper Certificate Validation vulnerability that could result in a Security feature bypass. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to spoof the identity of a signer. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction.

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 certificate validation vulnerability that allows attackers to spoof the identity of a document signer. This bypasses the security mechanism intended to verify the authenticity of digital signatures, potentially allowing malicious documents to appear as legitimately signed.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 25.001.21265. Until patched, exercise caution with signed documents from untrusted sources and verify signer identities through independent channels.

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:< 25.001.21288
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:< 25.001.21288
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 24.001.20604, < 24.001.30356

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Adobe Acrobat Reader version
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader. Alternatively, right-click the executable file (AcroRd32.exe or AcroRd64.exe) in the program files folder and view Properties > Details to see the version number.
    Affected if The version is below 25.001.21288 for Acrobat Dc or Reader Dc, OR between 24.001.20604 and 24.001.30356 for Adobe Acrobat (classic).
  2. Confirm product variant (Acrobat vs Reader)
    Identify whether the installed product is Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, or Adobe Acrobat (classic). Check the product name in the application title bar or in Add/Remove Programs.
    Affected if The product matches one of the affected variants listed in the CVE and the version falls within the affected ranges.
  3. Determine if digital signature verification is in use
    Open a PDF document in the application, then go to Edit > Preferences > Security (or Security settings) to check if digital signature validation is enabled. Alternatively, open a signed PDF and check the signature panel for validation status.
    Affected if Digital signature validation is enabled and signed PDFs from external or untrusted sources are processed by the application.

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat DC is installed with a version below 25.001.21288 (or between 24.001.20604 and 24.001.30356 for Acrobat classic) and the application is used to process signed PDF documents.

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 24.001.30356 / 25.001.21288 or later
Fixed in 24.001.3035625.001.21288
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 25.001.21265. Until patched, exercise caution with signed documents from untrusted sources and verify signer identities through independent channels.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 25.001.21288 or later | Acrobat (24.x): 24.001.30356 or later

  1. Navigate to Adobe's official download page at helpx.adobe.com or open Adobe Acrobat/Reader
  2. For Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader DC: Ensure upgrade to version 25.001.21288 or later
  3. For Acrobat (classic): If using version 24.x, upgrade to version 24.001.30356 or later
  4. Verify the installed version by opening the application, selecting Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
  5. Download and install the update from Adobe's official channels only
  6. Restart the application after installation
Caveat Adobe updates typically include security fixes with minimal functional changes; review release notes for any feature modifications

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
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2026-27221 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