CVE-2026-81988

Acrobat Reader | Use After Free (CWE-416)

Published Sep 8, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 7.8 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed

Description

Acrobat Reader is 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 in that a victim must open a malicious file.

Analysis

Technical impact

Acrobat Reader is vulnerable to a Use After Free bug that can be triggered by opening a specially crafted PDF file. The flaw allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code while the document is being processed, potentially compromising the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the user’s system. The weakness is a classic memory management error, classified as CWE‑416.

Affected Systems

The affected products are Adobe Acrobat 2024, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and Adobe Acrobat. The specific vulnerable revisions are not enumerated in the advisory, so all current releases before the security update should be considered at risk.

Risk and Exploitability

The CVSS score of 7.8 marks the vulnerability as high severity, and the nine‑year old EPSS data is not available. The flaw is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog. Exploitation requires the victim to manually open a malicious PDF, indicating it is a user‑interaction vulnerability rather than a remote trigger. Nonetheless, once invoked, the attacker can run code with the user’s privileges, posing a serious local impact.

Affected Products

Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).

Vendor Product Default status Versions

Adobe

Adobe Acrobat

unaffected

Version	Status	Constraints
`0`	affected	≤ 26.002.21900
`26.002.21901`	unaffected	—

Adobe

Acrobat Reader

unaffected

Version	Status	Constraints
`0`	affected	≤ 26.002.21900
`26.002.21901`	unaffected	—

Adobe

Acrobat 2024

unaffected

Version	Status	Constraints
`0`	affected	≤ 24.001.30383
`24.001.30429`	unaffected	—

Configuration 1 [-]

AND

OR	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat:::::classic:::*
	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_dc:::::continuous:::*
	cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader_dc:::::continuous:::*

OR	cpe:2.3:o:apple:macos:-:::::::*
	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows:-:::::::*

No data.

Vendor Product Versions

Adobe

Acrobat

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[0,26.002.21900]`	affected	semver	—
`26.002.21901`	unaffected	semver	—

Adobe

Acrobat 2024

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[0,24.001.30383]`	affected	semver	—
`24.001.30429`	unaffected	semver	—

Adobe

Acrobat Dc

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`—`	affected	—	—

Adobe

Acrobat Reader

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`[0,26.002.21900]`	affected	semver	—
`26.002.21901`	unaffected	semver	—

Adobe

Acrobat Reader Dc

Version	Status	Scheme	Platform
`—`	affected	—	—

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat to the latest available version that contains the fix.
Disable automatic opening or previewing of PDF files in the application settings to reduce the risk of accidental interaction.
Configure email or gateway security tools to scan and block or quarantine malicious PDF attachments before they reach end‑users.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on September 9, 2026 at 09:02 UTC.

Tracking

Advisories

No advisories available

Metrics

No CVSS v4.0

Attack Vector Local

Attack Complexity Low

Privileges Required None

Scope Unchanged

Confidentiality Impact High

Integrity Impact High

Availability Impact High

User Interaction Required

No CVSS v3.0

No CVSS v2

This CVE is not in the KEV list.

Exploit prediction score: < 1% (0.376% probability within 30 days)

Exploitation none

Automatable no

Technical Impact total

References

Link	Providers
https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb26-141.html

History

Sep 11, 2026 11:45 PM First appearance in the feed. Affected vendors updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
First Time appeared		Adobe acrobat 2024 Adobe acrobat Reader
Vendors & Products		Adobe acrobat 2024 Adobe acrobat Reader

Sep 10, 2026 2:30 PM First appearance in the feed. Affected versions updated. Affected vendors updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
First Time appeared		Adobe Adobe acrobat Adobe acrobat Dc Adobe acrobat Reader Dc Apple Apple macos Microsoft Microsoft windows
CPEs		cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat:::::classic:::* cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_dc:::::continuous:::* cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader_dc:::::continuous:::* cpe:2.3:o:apple:macos:-:::::::* cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows:-:::::::*
Vendors & Products		Adobe Adobe acrobat Adobe acrobat Dc Adobe acrobat Reader Dc Apple Apple macos Microsoft Microsoft windows

Sep 9, 2026 11:30 AM Scoring metrics updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Metrics		ssvc `{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'total'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}`

Sep 8, 2026 8:45 PM Description updated. Title updated. Weaknesses updated. Added references. Scoring metrics updated View changes

Type	Values Removed	Values Added
Description		Acrobat Reader is 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 in that a victim must open a malicious file.
Title		Acrobat Reader \| Use After Free (CWE-416)
Weaknesses		CWE-416
References		https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb26-141.html
Metrics		cvssV3_1 `{'score': 7.8, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'}`