CVE-2023-26422
Published: 12 April 2023
Summary
CVE-2023-26422 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked at the 46.8th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 23.001.20093 and earlier, along with versions 20.005.30441 and earlier, contain a Use After Free vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-26422. The flaw is classified under CWE-416 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8, reflecting the potential for arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user when a specially crafted file is processed.
An attacker can exploit the issue by supplying a malicious PDF that triggers the use-after-free condition during parsing or rendering. Successful exploitation requires the victim to open the file, after which the attacker gains the ability to execute arbitrary code under the privileges of the logged-in user without needing additional authentication or elevated rights.
Adobe’s advisory APSB23-24, published alongside the CVE, directs users to apply the vendor-supplied updates that remediate the vulnerability in both the 2023 and 2020 release streams.
The EPSS score for this CVE rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.0735 on 2025-01-22 before receding to its current value of 0.0024, indicating that exploitation interest increased well after initial disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-30242
Vulnerability details
Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 23.001.20093 (and earlier) and 20.005.30441 (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…
more
in that a victim must open a malicious file.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Use-after-free exploits that achieve arbitrary code execution are blocked or significantly hardened by non-executable pages and ASLR.