{"id":"CVE-2023-21608","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2023-21608"],"related":[],"title":"Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.003.20282 (and earlier), 22.003.20281 (and earlier) and 20.005.30418 (and earlier)…","description":"Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.003.20282 (and earlier), 22.003.20281 (and earlier) and 20.005.30418 (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.","summary":"Adobe Acrobat and Reader contain a use-after-free memory bug that lets a crafted file run code as the current user. CISA lists it as actively exploited in the wild.","severity":"high","cvss":7.8,"epss":null,"exploited":true,"exploited_at":"2023-10-10T00:00:00+00:00","products":[{"name":"Adobe Acrobat and Reader","fixed":[],"affected":"","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"adobe acrobat dc","fixed":[],"affected":">= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20282","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"adobe acrobat reader dc","fixed":[],"affected":">= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20282","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"adobe acrobat dc","fixed":[],"affected":">= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20281","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"adobe acrobat reader dc","fixed":[],"affected":">= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20281","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"adobe acrobat","fixed":[],"affected":">= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30418","ecosystem":"vendor"},{"name":"adobe acrobat reader","fixed":[],"affected":">= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30418","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":["vendor"],"tags":["adobe-acrobat","adobe-reader","desktop","exploited","macos","package","windows"],"not_affected_if":["not-installed","patched-version"],"how_to_check":"Open Acrobat or Reader and check Help > About to see the installed version; compare against the fixed release in Adobe's bulletin.","fix":"Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the patched release named in Adobe's security bulletin, or follow the vendor mitigations if an update is not possible.\nCISA says to discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","status":"open","published_at":"2023-01-18T19:15:11+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:51+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-23T21:04:25+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-23T22:29:04+00:00","category":"package","confidence":0.7,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-23T21:04:25Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader to the patched release named in Adobe's security bulletin, or follow the vendor mitigations if an update is not possible.\nCISA says to discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","reach":"local","impact":"high","summary":"Adobe Acrobat and Reader contain a use-after-free memory bug that lets a crafted file run code as the current user. CISA lists it as actively exploited in the wild.","category":"package","who_cares":["adobe-acrobat","adobe-reader","windows","macos","desktop"],"confidence":0.7,"needs_auth":"no","worst_case":"Attacker runs code as the logged-in user after the victim opens a crafted PDF.","analyst_note":"Find the fixed Acrobat/Reader versions and the exact mitigation steps in Adobe's security bulletin for CVE-2023-21608 (APSB23-01).","how_to_check":"Open Acrobat or Reader and check Help > About to see the installed version; compare against the fixed release in Adobe's bulletin.\nunknown\nunknown","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["not-installed","patched-version"],"user_interaction":"yes","needs_special_setup":"no","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.000503,"input_tokens":2814,"output_tokens":443,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-2023':16A,19A '-21608':17A,20A '20.005.30418':12A,98C '22.003.20281':8A,94C '22.003.20282':5A,91C 'acrobat':2A,22A,26A,29A,33A,36A,40A,42A,46B,56B,88C 'activ':82B 'adob':1A,45B,48B,55B,87C 'adobe':21A,25A,28A,32A,35A,39A,41A 'adobe-acrobat':44B 'adobe-read':47B 'affect':102C 'and':23A 'arbitrari':113C 'bug':66B 'cisa':78B 'code':73B,114C 'contain':59B 'context':118C 'could':110C 'craft':70B 'current':76B,121C 'cve':15A,18A 'dc':27A,31A,34A,38A 'desktop':50B 'earlier':7A,10A,14A,93C,96C,100C 'execut':115C 'exploit':51B,83B,123C 'file':71B,138C 'free':64B,107C 'interact':129C 'issu':126C 'let':68B 'list':79B 'maco':52B 'malici':137C 'memori':65B 'must':134C 'open':135C 'packag':53B 'reader':3A,24A,30A,37A,43A,49B,58B,89C 'requir':127C 'result':111C 'run':72B 'use':62B,105C 'use-after-fre':61B 'user':77B,122C,128C 'version':4A,90C 'victim':133C 'vulner':108C 'wild':86B 'window':54B","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":null,"tier":null,"verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2023-01-18T19:15:11+00:00","kev":{"dateAdded":"2023-10-10","dueDate":"2023-10-31","requiredAction":"Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Unknown"},"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"psirt@adobe.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"kev","external_id":"CVE-2023-21608","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2023-21608","severity":null,"published_at":"2023-10-10T00:00:00+00:00","modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:51+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-25T14:39:39+00:00","note":null},{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2023-21608","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-21608","severity":null,"published_at":"2023-01-18T19:15:11+00:00","modified_at":"2026-06-17T05:33:17+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T22:29:04+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T22:29:04+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}