Cyber Resilience

CVE-2018-4990

Memory Safety in Adobe Acrobat Dc 15.006.30060 – 15.006.30417

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedMemory Safety
Published
09 July 2018
Modified
23 October 2025
KEV Added
08 June 2022
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.37 98th percentile
Risk Priority 90 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2018-4990 is a high-severity Double Free (CWE-415) vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Dc. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked in the top 2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2018.011.20038 and earlier, 2017.011.30079 and earlier, and 2015.006.30417 and earlier contain a double-free vulnerability tracked as CVE-2018-4990 and CWE-415. The flaw is a memory-management error that arises during handling of certain PDF documents and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8.

An unauthenticated attacker can trigger the issue over the network by supplying a malicious PDF that a user opens in the affected application. Successful exploitation grants arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Adobe’s security bulletin APSB18-09, referenced at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb18-09.html, addresses the vulnerability through updated releases and recommends that organizations apply the patches for the supported branches as soon as possible.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

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.

CWE(s)
CWE-415
KEV Date Added
08 June 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service Impact
Adversaries may perform Endpoint Denial of Service (DoS) attacks to degrade or block the availability of services to users.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2020-9715Same product: Adobe Acrobat Dcboth on KEV
CVE-2021-28550Same product: Adobe Acrobat Dcboth on KEV
CVE-2023-21608Same product: Adobe Acrobat Dcboth on KEV
CVE-2019-7111Same product: Adobe Acrobat Dc
CVE-2014-0496Same product: Apple Mac Os Xboth on KEV
CVE-2023-26369Same product: Adobe Acrobat Dcboth on KEV
CVE-2021-21017Same product: Adobe Acrobat Dcboth on KEV
CVE-2014-0502Same product: Apple Mac Os Xboth on KEV
CVE-2020-9859Same product: Apple Mac Os Xboth on KEV
CVE-2014-9163Same product: Apple Mac Os Xboth on KEV

Affected Assets

adobe
acrobat dc
15.006.30060 — 15.006.30417 · 15.008.20082 — 18.011.20038 · 17.011.30059 — 17.011.30079
adobe
acrobat reader dc
15.006.30060 — 15.006.30417 · 15.008.20082 — 18.011.20038 · 17.011.30059 — 17.011.30079

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 1 hardening rule · 1 OS baseline
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 full match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent double-free errors via static analysis, safe memory APIs, and testing.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development can detect double-free conditions before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle includes memory-safety practices that can prevent double-free bugs.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can mandate memory-safety rules that reduce double-free risk.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure system architecture and engineering principles can prescribe safe memory-management patterns.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly address proper use of free() and similar functions.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248590 OL 8 must clear the page allocator to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-415

References