CVE Intelligence
CISA KEV High Memory corruption

CVE-2018-4990 — Adobe Acrobat and Reader Double Free Vulnerability

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.

Published Jul 9, 2018 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: adobe

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

CISA KEV · Jun 8, 2022
How the score was calculated
  • Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
  • EPSS 36.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Confirmed
CISA KEV, listed Jun 8, 2022
EPSS FIRST
36.23%
ahead of 98% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Adobe
Acrobat DC and 1 more
CVSS base
8.8
High · 4 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Active
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

CISA required action CISA

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

US federal deadline: Jun 22, 2022 — passed 1576 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC).
  2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
  3. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
  4. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  5. Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
  6. EPSS ahead of 98% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  7. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Adobe Acrobat DC ≥ 15.006.30060 and ≤ 15.006.30417≥ 15.008.20082 and ≤ 18.011.20038≥ 17.011.30059 and ≤ 17.011.30079 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Adobe Acrobat Reader DC ≥ 15.006.30060 and ≤ 15.006.30417≥ 15.008.20082 and ≤ 18.011.20038≥ 17.011.30059 and ≤ 17.011.30079 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
8.8 CVSS 3.1 High 2.8 5.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.8 CVSS 3.1 High 2.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.8 CVSS 3.1 High — — CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
8.8 CVSS 3.0 High — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
6.8 CVSS 2.0 Medium 8.6 6.4 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-415 · Double Free

Other CVEs with this weakness →

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

Listed
Jun 8, 2022
Federal deadline
Jun 22, 2022
passed 1576 day(s) ago
Ransomware use
Unknown

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 36.23%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
  • Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
  • Hunt retroactively in logs from before Jun 8, 2022 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPSendpoint telemetry (EDR)crash dumps

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Affected products added · adobe/acrobat dc, adobe/acrobat reader dc
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 8.8
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Added to CISA KEV (detected)
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
  • 2022
  • Added to CISA KEV catalog
    Jun 7, 2022 · CISA
  • 2018
  • CVE published
    Jul 9, 2018 · adobe

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

6 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Adobe
every CVE for this vendor
2022-06
what else CISA listed that month
Memory corruption
same class
CWE-415
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2020-9695 Acrobat Reader | Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) Jun 23, 2026
  • CVE-2020-9711 Acrobat Reader | Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) Jun 23, 2026
  • CVE-2020-9713 Acrobat Reader | Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) Jun 23, 2026
  • CVE-2026-47965 Acrobat Reader | Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) Jun 12, 2026
  • CVE-2026-47955 Acrobat Reader | Use After Free (CWE-416) Jun 9, 2026
  • CVE-2026-47961 Acrobat Reader | Out-of-bounds Read (CWE-125) Jun 9, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2018-4990 is "Adobe Acrobat and Reader Double Free Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Acrobat DC (Adobe); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 8.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 36.23% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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