CVE-2023-21608

Adobe Acrobat and Reader: Use-After-Free

As of , CVE-2023-21608 in Adobe Acrobat and Reader is on CISA's list of exploited vulnerabilities: CISA listed it on . Our patch-first group: Patch this week.

Exploited
Yes: CISA listed it on 10 October 2023
US federal deadline
31 October 202321 days after CISA listed it. US federal civilian agencies must fix it by then.
Used in ransomware campaigns
Not known to CISA
EPSS score
0.61Higher than 99% of the CVEs EPSS scores. EPSS estimates the chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
EPSS when listed
0.01 on 10 October 2023EPSS on the day CISA listed it.
Public exploit
None foundNeither Metasploit nor Exploit-DB lists one.
Fix
Vendor advice: helpx.adobe.comLinks below, from CISA's entry.

What CISA says to do

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

CISA's required action

What the flaw is

Adobe Acrobat and Reader contains a use-after-free vulnerability that allows for code execution in the context of the current user.

CISA's 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.

The CVE record's description, from adobe

CVE published
18 January 2023
Assigned by
adobe
CVSS
7.8 High (CVSS 3.1, from the CNA)
CWE-416
Use After Free
CISA SSVC, exploitation
active
CISA SSVC, automatable
no
CISA SSVC, technical impact
total

Timeline

  1. The CVE record was published.
  2. CISA added it to its list of exploited vulnerabilities.
  3. The US federal deadline to fix it.

Acrobat and Reader: other exploited entries

VulnerabilityProductOur groupListedDeadlineEPSS
CVE-2009-3459Heap-Based Buffer OverflowAdobe Acrobat and ReaderPatch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.87; verified Exploit-DB entry0.87
CVE-2007-5659Buffer OverflowAdobe Acrobat and ReaderPatch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.87; verified Exploit-DB entry0.87
CVE-2009-3953Universal 3D Remote Code ExecutionAdobe Acrobat and ReaderPatch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.83; verified Exploit-DB entry0.83
CVE-2009-4324Use-After-FreeAdobe Acrobat and ReaderPatch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.82; verified Exploit-DB entry0.82
CVE-2010-2883Stack-Based Buffer OverflowAdobe Acrobat and ReaderPatch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.81; verified Exploit-DB entry0.81
CVE-2008-2992Reader and Acrobat Input ValidationAdobe Acrobat and ReaderPatch this weekRansomware use; Metasploit module; EPSS 0.98; verified Exploit-DB entry0.98
CVE-2021-21017Heap-based Buffer OverflowAdobe Acrobat and ReaderPatch this weekEPSS 0.860.86
CVE-2021-28550Use-After-FreeAdobe Acrobat and ReaderPatch this weekEPSS 0.520.52
CVE-2008-0655UnspecifiedAdobe Acrobat and ReaderPatch soon0.38
CVE-2018-4990Double FreeAdobe Acrobat and ReaderPatch soon0.36

All 13 entries for Acrobat and Reader

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