Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a low-severity Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for macOS issue where signature validation in the Reader update process could be bypassed. Adobe describes the practical security impact as minimal and says a defense-in-depth hardening fix was implemented.
Executive priority
Treat as routine patch hygiene, not an emergency. Prioritize normal endpoint update cycles, especially where macOS users handle external PDFs or Reader updates are centrally managed.
Technical view
CVE-2020-24439 is a CWE-347 signature validation bypass affecting Acrobat Reader DC for macOS at or before 2020.012.20048, 2020.001.30005, and 2017.011.30175. CVSS 3.1 is 2.8: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges, user interaction required, and limited integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to macOS systems running affected Acrobat Reader DC versions. The bundle does not identify Windows exposure, server-side exposure, or affected Adobe products beyond Acrobat Reader.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show known active exploitation, and this CVE is not listed as KEV. The scoring indicates local access and user interaction are required, with no confidentiality or availability impact identified.
Researcher notes
Evidence points to a defense-in-depth update-process hardening issue, not a broad application compromise. Do not assume remote exploitation or active exploitation from the provided sources. Validation should focus on macOS Reader version exposure and remediation state.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory macOS endpoints running Acrobat Reader DC.
- Check versions against Adobe APSB20-67 affected ranges.
- Apply Adobe’s referenced Reader update or current vendor guidance.
- Retire affected builds where timely updating is not possible.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Acrobat Reader DC is installed on macOS endpoints.
- Record installed versions and compare with the affected version ranges.
- Verify Adobe APSB20-67 remediation is applied where relevant.
- Document exceptions and track them through endpoint management.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-347: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-24439 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Low
- CVSS
- 2.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N1.31.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
2.8LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb20-67.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature
Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.