CVE-2020-9715
Adobe Acrobat Use-After-Free Vulnerability
Does this matter?
Known to be exploited in the wild (CISA KEV, CISA remediation deadline 27 April 2026). Treat as an emergency change: patch or isolate now, then hunt for prior compromise.
Description
Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 2020.009.20074 and earlier, 2020.001.30002, 2017.011.30171 and earlier, and 2015.006.30523 and earlier have an use-after-free vulnerability. Successful exploitation could lead to arbitrary code execution .
- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 33.49% probability · 98th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Listed 13 April 2026 · due 27 April 2026
- Weakness
- CWE-416
- Affected
- adobe/acrobat dc · adobe/acrobat reader dc
- Source
- psirt@adobe.com
EPSS moved from 33.5% on 18 October 2026 to 33.5% on 26 October 2026. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”.
CISA notes
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb20-48.html ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-9715
References
- https://blog.exodusintel.com/2021/04/20/analysis-of-a-use-after-free-vulnerability-in-adobe-acrobat-reader-dc/Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb20-48.htmlVendor Advisory
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-991/Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://blog.exodusintel.com/2021/04/20/analysis-of-a-use-after-free-vulnerability-in-adobe-acrobat-reader-dc/Exploit, Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb20-48.htmlVendor Advisory
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-991/Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-9715US Government Resource
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.