CVE-2018-4990

Exp

Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2018.011.20038 and earlier, 2017.011.30079 and earlier, and 2015.006.30417 and earlier have a Double Free vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.

Published: 2018-07-09 Last update: 2025-10-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2018-4990 is rated Critical Active Threat (89.4/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 51.50%, 98th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2022-06-08) affecting Adobe / Acrobat and Reader. a weakness (CWE-415) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2018-4990

Name: Adobe Acrobat and Reader Double Free Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2022-06-08

Action due: 2022-06-22

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-4990

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-03-18 62.03% 51.50% -10.53%
2 2025-11-21 70.13% 62.03% -8.10%
3 2025-11-18 — 70.13% —

Full EPSS history (30 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-4990

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
6.8 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 8.6 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-4990

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-4990

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
adobe acrobat_dc >= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30417 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_dc:*:*:*:*:classic:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_dc >= 15.008.20082, <= 18.011.20038 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_dc:*:*:*:*:continuous:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_dc >= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30079 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_dc:*:*:*:*:classic:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_reader_dc >= 15.006.30060, <= 15.006.30417 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader_dc:*:*:*:*:classic:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_reader_dc >= 15.008.20082, <= 18.011.20038 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader_dc:*:*:*:*:continuous:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_reader_dc >= 17.011.30059, <= 17.011.30079 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader_dc:*:*:*:*:classic:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-4990

URL Tags
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104167 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040920 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb18-09.html Vendor Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-4990 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
cvelogic Threat Intelligence