CVE-2018-4990
CVE-2018-4990 is a security flaw in Adobe Acrobat and Reader, Adobe’s software for opening and editing PDFs. Attackers can run their own code on Adobe Acrobat and Reader. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 8 Jun 2022.[1]
Adobe Acrobat and Reader is in things households have, such as phones, computers, browsers and everyday apps, so the fix matters at home as much as at work. Adobe has published a fix or advice.
Description
CISA calls it a double free in Adobe Acrobat and Reader. In its words: “Adobe Acrobat and Reader have a double free vulnerability that could lead to remote code execution.”[1]
The CVE record adds: “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.”[2]
The underlying weakness is CWE-415, in MITRE’s list of common software weaknesses.
It scores 8.8 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which rates it high, scored by NVD using CVSS 3.1.[2]
Affected versions
NVD’s record doesn’t list version ranges for it; Adobe’s advisory has them[3]. CISA names the product as Adobe Acrobat and Reader.
Every device with Adobe Acrobat and Reader needs the update.
Exploitation
CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 8 Jun 2022, 1,430 days after it was made public. CISA lists a flaw only when it has reliable evidence of it being exploited, and gave US federal agencies until 22 Jun 2022 to fix it.[1]
FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System, which estimates how likely a flaw is to be used in attacks in the next 30 days from what it sees across the internet, puts it at 36%. That’s in the top 2% of the flaws it scores.[4]
CISA assesses it as not automatable: each attack takes some work.
CISA doesn’t say who was attacked, or how.
Fix
Adobe has published a fix or advice.[3] CISA’s required action: “Apply updates per vendor instructions.”[1]
- Update Adobe Acrobat and Reader now.Install the latest update from Adobe on every device that has it, and restart when asked. Then turn on automatic updates, so the next fix arrives on its own.
- If there’s no update, stop using it.CISA’s advice when a flaw being used in attacks has no fix is to stop using the product until it does.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| The flaw is made public in the National Vulnerability Database, with a severity score of 8.8.[2] | |
| CISA adds it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks.[1] | |
| CISA’s deadline for US government agencies to fix it.[1] | |
| FIRST puts the odds of it being used in attacks in the next 30 days at 36%.[4] |
See also
Other Adobe Acrobat and Reader flaws
- CVE-2009-3459: heap-based buffer overflow ·
- CVE-2026-34621: prototype pollution ·
- CVE-2023-21608: use-after-free ·
- CVE-2023-26369: out-of-bounds write ·
- CVE-2010-2883: stack-based buffer overflow ·
- CVE-2009-4324: use-after-free ·
Other Adobe flaws
- CVE-2026-48356, Adobe Commerce and Magento: unrestricted upload of file with dangerous type ·
- CVE-2026-71362, Adobe Commerce and Magento: incorrect authorization ·
- CVE-2026-75650, Adobe Commerce and Magento: improper neutralization of special elements used in a template engine ·
- CVE-2026-48282, Adobe ColdFusion: path traversal ·
- CVE-2020-9715, Adobe Acrobat: use-after-free ·
Similar flaws
- CVE-2026-33824, Microsoft Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Service Extensions: double free ·
- CVE-2021-22600, Linux Kernel: privilege escalation ·
- CVE-2020-9859, Apple devices: code execution ·
Added the same day
- CVE-2019-7195, QNAP Photo Station: path traversal ·
- CVE-2019-7194, QNAP Photo Station: path traversal ·
- CVE-2019-7193, QNAP QTS: improper input validation ·
- CVE-2019-7192, QNAP Photo Station: improper access control ·
- CVE-2019-5825, Chrome and other Chromium browsers: out-of-bounds write ·
Every Adobe flaw on CISA’s list · Everything added in June 2022
References
- ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Adobe Acrobat and Reader Double Free Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 8 Jun 2022.
- ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2018-4990 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 9 Jul 2018.
- ^ Adobe. Advisories and fixes: helpx.adobe.com.
- ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 0.359, percentile 98.5, 31 Oct 2026.
- CVE Program. “CVE-2018-4990”. The official CVE record.
This article is built from CISA’s catalog (version 2026.10.30), NVD’s record and FIRST’s scores, kept in HARD’s database and checked every morning. The plain English is HARD’s.