Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-21612

Adobe Acrobat Dc 15.008.20082 – 22.003.20282

Published
18 January 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0040 33th percentile
Risk Priority 57 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-21612 is a high-severity Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions (CWE-379) vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Dc. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 33th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.003.20282 (and earlier), 22.003.20281 (and earlier) and 20.005.30418 (and earlier) are affected by a Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Incorrect Permissions vulnerability that could result in privilege escalation in the context of the current…

more

user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

CWE(s)
CWE-379

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
attack.mitre.org →
T1552 Unsecured Credentials Credential Access
Adversaries may search compromised systems to find and obtain insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-26396Same product: Adobe Acrobat
CVE-2023-21611Same product: Adobe Acrobat
CVE-2024-49535Same product: Adobe Acrobat
CVE-2023-38245Same product: Adobe Acrobat
CVE-2023-38231Same product: Adobe Acrobat
CVE-2023-44338Same product: Adobe Acrobat
CVE-2023-38244Same product: Adobe Acrobat
CVE-2024-41834Same product: Adobe Acrobat
CVE-2023-22242Same product: Adobe Acrobat
CVE-2023-29299Same product: Adobe Acrobat

Affected Assets

adobe
acrobat dc
15.008.20082 — 22.003.20282 · 15.008.20082 — 22.003.20281
adobe
acrobat reader dc
15.008.20082 — 22.003.20282 · 15.008.20082 — 22.003.20281
adobe
acrobat
20.001.30005 — 20.005.30418
adobe
acrobat reader
20.001.30005 — 20.005.30418

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)
  • V15.4.2

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 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent developers from writing code that creates temp files in insecure directories.

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.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure system architecture principles include proper file-system permission models that mitigate insecure temp-file creation.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly require safe temporary-file creation with restrictive permissions.

A.8.3 Information access restriction partial match
mitigates

Information access restriction policies can limit who may read or list files in shared temporary directories.

A.8.9 Configuration management partial match
mitigates

Configuration management can enforce secure default permissions on temporary directories.

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-248577 OL 8 must enable kernel parameters to enforce Discretionary Access Control (DAC) on symlinks. prevents CWE-379

References