CVE-2023-21608

CRITICALNVD 7.89.0▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-10-10), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 7.8 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 4 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
9.0EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS PROB: 61%CVSS: 7.8Exploit: cisa kev · ssvc active · epss top5pct · epss high · public exploitExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.003.20282 (and earlier), 22.003.20281 (and earlier) and 20.005.30418 (and earlier) are 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.

CVSS v3
7.8
EG Score
9.0(high)
EG Risk
81(Attend)
EG Risk 81/100SSVC: Attend

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity90% × 45%
Exploitation100% × 40%
Automatability0% × 15%
Action: Remediate soon — notable exploitation risk.
EPSS PROB
61%
EPSS %ILE
99%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

January 18, 2023

Last Modified

October 23, 2025

Advisory Details (1)

Auto-updated Jun 3, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. Patch available. Sources: cisa.
cisa Patch Available🔴 Active Exploitation

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA. Listed in CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-21608

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 53× in last 7d / 234× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 766 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-09-08 21:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-09-08 20:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-09-08 18:54 UTCCISA KEV update
  4. 2026-09-08 16:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-09-08 11:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-09-08 07:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-09-08 03:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-09-07 23:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-09-07 19:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-09-07 15:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-09-07 11:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-09-07 06:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-09-07 02:36 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-09-06 22:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-09-06 18:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-09-06 14:09 UTCEG score recompute
  17. 2026-09-06 14:09 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-09-06 13:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-09-06 10:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-09-06 05:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-09-06 01:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-09-05 21:36 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-09-05 17:28 UTCEG score recompute
  24. 2026-09-05 17:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-09-05 15:25 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-09-05 13:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-09-05 09:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-09-05 05:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-09-05 00:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-09-04 20:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-09-04 17:38 UTCCISA KEV update
  7. 2026-09-04 16:33 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-09-04 16:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-09-04 13:58 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-09-04 13:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-09-04 12:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-09-04 08:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-09-04 04:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-09-03 23:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-09-03 19:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-09-03 15:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-09-03 11:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-09-03 07:16 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-09-03 03:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-09-02 22:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-09-02 18:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-09-02 17:33 UTCCISA KEV update
  23. 2026-09-02 14:37 UTCEG score recompute
  24. 2026-09-02 14:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-09-02 14:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-09-02 10:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  27. 2026-09-02 06:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  28. 2026-09-02 02:09 UTCGHSA enrichment
  29. 2026-09-01 21:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  30. 2026-09-01 17:51 UTCEG score recompute
  31. 2026-09-01 17:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  32. 2026-09-01 13:51 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-09-01 13:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  34. 2026-09-01 09:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  35. 2026-09-01 05:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  36. 2026-09-01 01:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-08-31 21:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  38. 2026-08-31 16:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  39. 2026-08-31 14:19 UTCCISA KEV update
  40. 2026-08-31 12:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  41. 2026-08-31 08:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  42. 2026-08-31 08:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  43. 2026-08-31 04:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  44. 2026-08-31 00:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  45. 2026-08-30 20:02 UTCEG score recompute
  46. 2026-08-30 20:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  47. 2026-08-30 19:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  48. 2026-08-30 15:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  49. 2026-08-30 11:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  50. 2026-08-30 07:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  51. 2026-08-30 03:29 UTCEG score recompute
  52. 2026-08-30 03:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  53. 2026-08-30 01:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  54. 2026-08-29 23:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  55. 2026-08-29 19:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  56. 2026-08-29 15:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  57. 2026-08-29 10:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  58. 2026-08-29 06:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  59. 2026-08-29 02:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  60. 2026-08-28 22:22 UTCEG score recompute
  61. 2026-08-28 22:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  62. 2026-08-28 21:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  63. 2026-08-28 18:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  64. 2026-08-28 14:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  65. 2026-08-28 09:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  66. 2026-08-28 05:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  67. 2026-08-28 01:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  68. 2026-08-27 21:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  69. 2026-08-27 17:22 UTCCISA KEV update
  70. 2026-08-27 17:13 UTCEG score recompute
  71. 2026-08-27 17:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  72. 2026-08-27 14:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  73. 2026-08-27 13:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  74. 2026-08-27 08:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  75. 2026-08-27 04:46 UTCGHSA enrichment

Publicly available exploits

(2 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (2 GitHub PoCs). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCMalwareman007/CVE-2023-21608
    First seen Feb 13, 2023

    Adobe Acrobat Reader - CVE-2023-21608 - Remote Code Execution Exploit

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoChacksysteam/CVE-2023-21608
    First seen Jan 30, 2023

    Adobe Acrobat Reader - CVE-2023-21608 - Remote Code Execution Exploit

    Open source ↗

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2023-21608?
CVE-2023-21608 is a critical vulnerability published on January 18, 2023. Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.003.20282 (and earlier), 22.003.20281 (and earlier) and 20.005.30418 (and earlier) are 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…
When was CVE-2023-21608 disclosed?
CVE-2023-21608 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on January 18, 2023, with the most recent update on October 23, 2025. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2023-21608 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2023-21608 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on October 10, 2023, affecting Adobe Acrobat and Reader. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-21608?
CVE-2023-21608 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0.
Which products are affected by CVE-2023-21608?
CVE-2023-21608 affects Adobe Acrobat and Reader. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2023-21608?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2023-21608, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2023-21608

Explore →

Is Your Infrastructure Affected by CVE-2023-21608?

EchelonGraph automatically scans your cloud infrastructure and maps CVE exposure using blast radius analysis.

Start Free Scan →Browse All CVEs