CVE-2023-21608 | Adobe Acrobat Reader DC resetForm Use-After-Free Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Exp

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.

Published: 2023-01-18 Last update: 2025-10-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-21608 is rated Critical Active Threat (89.2/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 77.47%, 99th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2023-10-10) affecting Adobe / Acrobat and Reader. a weakness (CWE-416) 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-2023-21608

Name: Adobe Acrobat and Reader Use-After-Free Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2023-10-10

Action due: 2023-10-31

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-21608

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 2026-05-04 79.14% 77.47% -1.67%
2 2026-04-15 80.88% 79.14% -1.74%
3 2026-03-30 — 80.88% —

Full EPSS history (74 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-21608

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-21608

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-21608

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
adobe acrobat_dc >= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20282 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_dc:*:*:*:*:continuous:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_reader_dc >= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20282 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader_dc:*:*:*:*:continuous:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_dc >= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20281 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_dc:*:*:*:*:continuous:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_reader_dc >= 15.008.20082, <= 22.003.20281 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader_dc:*:*:*:*:continuous:*:*:*
adobe acrobat >= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30418 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat:*:*:*:*:classic:*:*:*
adobe acrobat_reader >= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30418 cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader:*:*:*:*:classic:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-21608

cvelogic Threat Intelligence