# CVE-2021-21017: Acrobat Reader DC Heap-based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability Could Lead To Arbitrary Code Execution

> CVE-2021-21017: Acrobat Reader DC Heap-based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability Could Lead To Arbitrary Code Execution. CVSS 8.8 (CVSS 3.1), in CISA KEV.

Canonical: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2021-21017
Last updated: 2025-10-21T23:35:28Z

- Published: 2021-02-11 19:42 UTC · Updated: 2025-10-21 23:35 UTC · Assigner: adobe
- CVSS: 8.8 (CVSS 3.1) · Severity: High · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS: 86.3%, 100th percentile (scored 2026-10-25)
- CISA KEV: yes, added 2021-11-03, federal due date 2021-11-17, ransomware use: Unknown
- CWE: CWE-122

## Description

Acrobat Reader DC versions versions 2020.013.20074 (and earlier), 2020.001.30018 (and earlier) and 2017.011.30188 (and earlier) are affected by a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

## CISA required action

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

## Affected vendors and products

- Adobe: Acrobat Reader

## References

- [CVE record on cve.org](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-21017)
- [NVD entry](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21017)
- [https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb21-09.html](https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb21-09.html)

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_Sources: CVE records from the CVE Program (cve.org). CVE® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. (https://www.cve.org/) This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. (https://nvd.nist.gov/) Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog from CISA. (https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog) EPSS scores from FIRST (Exploit Prediction Scoring System). (https://www.first.org/epss/)_


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Canonical: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2021-21017 · Markdown: https://rewindex.com/cve/CVE-2021-21017.md · JSON: https://rewindex.com/api/v1/cves/CVE-2021-21017 · Data licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) · Generated 2026-10-26T02:16:23.600Z