# CVE-2023-38245: Adobe Acrobat Reader DC ActiveX Control (AxAcroPDFLib.AxAcroPDF) src NTLMv2 SSO Hash Theft Vulnerability

> An attacker can steal NTLMv2 credentials by tricking a user into opening a malicious file or visiting a crafted webpage in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Aug 2023
- **Updated:** 28 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jwfv-vj48-p3xq

## What is CVE-2023-38245?

CVE-2023-38245 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, published on 10 Aug 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 23.003.20244 (and earlier) and 20.005.30467 (and earlier) are affected by an Information Disclosure vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to obtain NTLMv2 credentials. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a maliciously crafted Microsoft Office file, or visit an attacker controlled web page.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-38245?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-38245?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-38245 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-38245 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-38245 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Adobe Acrobat

- [CVE-2021-28550](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28550/): Adobe Acrobat and Reader Use-After-Free (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-21017](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21017/): Adobe Acrobat and Reader Heap-based Buffer Overflow (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2014-0546](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0546/): Adobe Reader and Acrobat Sandbox Bypass (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2014-0496](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-0496/): Adobe Reader and Acrobat Use-After-Free (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-3346](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3346/): Adobe Reader and Acrobat Memory Corruption (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-38245 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-38245 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat, published on 10 Aug 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-38245 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Adobe Acrobat. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38245/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38245/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-38245
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38245
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-38245

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-38245/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.