Threats / Adobe / CVE-2023-21608
CVE-2023-21608
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Adobe Acrobat and Reader vulnerability
Adobe Acrobat and Reader contain a use-after-free vulnerability enabling arbitrary code execution with user privileges. The flaw is actively exploited in the wild.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
A use-after-free defect in Adobe Acrobat and Reader permits remote code execution in the current user's security context. Active exploitation in the wild and high EPSS score indicate immediate risk to deployed systems.
CISA KEV Yes · 2023-10-105EPSS 0.61475 (verify live)6Exploit Weaponized · public PoC7CVSS 7.83CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total4
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
1 independent public report of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-10-10).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.61475 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Adobe, Acrobat and Reader. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CNA-assigned (CVE.org), version 3.1, set at disclosure.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-416 Use After Free — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE — CNA-assigned (CVE.org); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 265 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious PDF or exploit vector that triggers memory reuse in the vulnerable code path.
Business
End users face direct compromise of their systems and data through a widely-deployed document application.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I achieve code execution within the user's privilege level, gaining access to their files and credentials.
Business
Sensitive corporate documents, intellectual property, and authentication tokens become accessible to adversaries.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I establish persistence or pivot to adjacent systems using the compromised user account.
Business
Incident response costs, forensic investigation, and potential regulatory notification obligations escalate significantly.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05