CVE-2023-44337VulnerabilityPublished 16 Nov 2023Updated 16 Dec 2025

CVE-2023-44337: Adobe Acrobat Reader · Out-of-bounds Read

Affects Adobe Acrobat ReaderSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 2.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 81% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Nov 2023
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Adobe Acrobat Reader	Affected =0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Apply official Adobe patches immediately once released to address CVE-2023-44337. 2. Until patches are available, restrict the opening of PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources through email filtering and endpoint policies. 3. Employ application whitelisting and sandboxing techniques to isolate Adobe Acrobat Reader processes and limit the impact of potential exploitation. 4. Use endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions with behavior-based detection to identify suspicious activities related to PDF parsing or memory corruption. 5. Educate users on the risks of opening unsolicited or suspicious PDF attachments and implement phishing awareness training. 6. Monitor network traffic and logs for anomalous behavior indicative of exploitation attempts, such as unusual process spawning or memory access patterns. 7. Consider disabling JavaScript execution within Adobe Acrobat Reader if not required, as it can reduce attack surface. 8. Maintain up-to-date backups and incident response plans to quickly recover from potential compromises.

Description

CVE-2023-44337 is a high-severity out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 23.006.20360 and earlier, as well as 20.005.30524 and earlier. The flaw occurs when parsing a specially crafted file, allowing an attacker to read memory beyond allocated boundaries. Successful exploitation requires user interaction, specifically opening a malicious PDF file, and can lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user. Although no known exploits are reported in the wild yet, the vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Given Adobe Acrobat Reader's widespread use in Europe, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to organizations handling PDF documents. Mitigation involves applying vendor patches once available, restricting PDF file sources, and employing endpoint protection with behavior-based detection.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability presents a significant risk due to the prevalent use of Adobe Acrobat Reader for handling PDF documents across sectors such as finance, government, healthcare, and legal services. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information, disruption of business operations, and potential lateral movement within networks if attackers gain code execution capabilities. Confidentiality is at high risk because out-of-bounds reads can leak memory contents, potentially exposing credentials or proprietary data. Integrity and availability are also threatened since arbitrary code execution can modify or delete files and disrupt services. The requirement for user interaction limits mass exploitation but targeted phishing or social engineering campaigns could effectively exploit this vulnerability. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers often develop exploits rapidly after disclosure. European organizations with stringent data protection regulations like GDPR face additional compliance risks if breaches occur due to this vulnerability.

Summary

CVE-2023-44337 is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability classified under CWE-125 affecting Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 23.006.20360 and earlier, and 20.005.30524 and earlier. The vulnerability arises during the parsing of a crafted PDF file, where the application reads memory beyond the allocated buffer, potentially exposing sensitive data or enabling memory corruption. This memory corruption can be leveraged by an attacker to execute arbitrary code within the context of the current user. The attack vector requires local user interaction, specifically opening a maliciously crafted PDF document, which triggers the vulnerability. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.8, indicating high severity, with attack vector local (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), user interaction required (UI:R), unchanged scope (S:U), and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). No public exploits have been reported yet, but the potential for exploitation exists given the widespread use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The vulnerability can lead to unauthorized disclosure of information, code execution, and denial of service conditions. The absence of patches at the time of reporting necessitates proactive mitigation and monitoring.

CWE-125Out-of-bounds Read (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #8
The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Use a language that provides appropriate memory abstractions.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Overread Buffers (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb23-54.htm (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 23 Dec 2025, 18:35 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-125

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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