CVE-2020-9715
CVE-2020-9715 is a security flaw in Adobe Acrobat, Adobe’s software for opening and editing PDFs. Attackers can run their own code on Adobe Acrobat. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 13 Apr 2026.[1]
Adobe Acrobat 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 an use-after-free in Adobe Acrobat. In its words: “Adobe Acrobat contains a use-after-free vulnerability that allows for code execution”[1]
The CVE record adds: “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 .”[2]
The underlying weakness is use after free (CWE-416), in MITRE’s list of common software weaknesses.
It scores 7.8 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.
Every device with Adobe Acrobat needs the update.
Exploitation
CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 13 Apr 2026, 2,063 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 27 Apr 2026 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 33%. 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 mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.”[1]
- Update Adobe Acrobat 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 7.8.[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 33%.[4] |
See also
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-2009-3459, Adobe Acrobat and Reader: heap-based buffer overflow ·
Other use after free flaws
- CVE-2026-109619, PHP: stale internal request-state ·
- CVE-2026-109618, PHP: memory corruption ·
- CVE-2026-68820, Microsoft Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock: use-after-free ·
- CVE-2010-0249, Microsoft Internet Explorer: use-after-free ·
- CVE-2026-5281, Google Dawn: use-after-free ·
Added the same day
- CVE-2026-34621, Adobe Acrobat and Reader: prototype pollution ·
- CVE-2026-21643, Fortinet FortiClient EMS: SQL injection ·
- CVE-2025-60710, Microsoft Windows: link following ·
- CVE-2023-36424, Microsoft Windows: out-of-bounds read ·
- CVE-2023-21529, Microsoft Exchange Server: deserialization of untrusted data ·
Every Adobe flaw on CISA’s list · Everything added in April 2026
References
- ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Adobe Acrobat Use-After-Free Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 13 Apr 2026.
- ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2020-9715 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 19 Aug 2020.
- ^ Adobe. Advisories and fixes: helpx.adobe.com.
- ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 0.335, percentile 98.4, 31 Oct 2026.
- CVE Program. “CVE-2020-9715”. 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.