CVE-2021-21045
Acrobat Reader DC Improper Installer Access Control Vulnerability Could Lead To Privilege Escalation
Acrobat Reader DC versions versions 2020.013.20074 (and earlier), 2020.001.30018 (and earlier) and 2017.011.30188 (and earlier) are affected by an improper access control vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to elevate privileges in the context of the current user.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Acrobat Reader DC Improper Installer Access Control Vulnerability Could Lead To Privilege Escalation
Acrobat Reader DC versions versions 2020.013.20074 (and earlier), 2020.001.30018 (and earlier) and 2017.011.30188 (and earlier) are affected by an improper access control vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to elevate privileges in the context of the current user.
- Record
CVE-2021-21045- CVSS 3.1
- 8.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-284
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-8436
Acrobat Reader DC versions versions 2020.013.20074 (and earlier), 2020.001.30018 (and earlier) and 2017.011.30188 (and earlier) are affected by an improper access control vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to elevate privileges in the context of the current user.
- Record
EUVD-2021-8436- CVSS 3.1
- 8.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-mpj9-vhqf-h7fw
Acrobat Reader DC versions versions 2020.013.20074 (and earlier), 2020.001.30018 (and earlier)...
Acrobat Reader DC versions versions 2020.013.20074 (and earlier), 2020.001.30018 (and earlier) and 2017.011.30188 (and earlier) are affected by an improper access control vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to elevate privileges in the context of the current user.
- Record
GHSA-mpj9-vhqf-h7fw- CVSS 3.1
- 8.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-284
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
Acrobat Reader DC versions versions 2020.013.20074 (and earlier), 2020.001.30018 (and earlier) and 2017.011.30188 (and earlier) are affected by an improper access control vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to elevate privileges in the context of the current user.
- Record
CVE-2021-21045- CVSS 3.1
- 8.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 9.3 High
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-284
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-21045 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.2) in Adobe Acrobat, published February 11, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.78%, the 78th percentile. No source names a fixed version.