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Pranav_Saxena
January 11, 2026
Question

Acrobat Pro crashes on launch on macOS 26.2 (Apple Silicon) – EXC_BAD_ACCESS SIGSEGV

  • January 11, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 420 views

Hi,

 

I’m facing a consistent crash on launch with Adobe Acrobat Pro on macOS 26.2. The issue is fully reproducible and persists even after a clean OS reinstall.

 

Environment

  • macOS 26.2 (Build 25C56)

  • Apple Silicon (M2, Mac14,2)

  • Adobe Acrobat Pro DC – Version 25.001.20997

  • Code Type: ARM-64 (Native)

  • SIP: Enabled

 

Issue

  • Acrobat crashes immediately on launch (before UI loads)

  • Crash occurs on the main thread during startup

  • Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)

  • Instruction pointer jumps to null address (0x0)

 

Troubleshooting already performed

 

  • Full macOS format and clean reinstall

  • Fresh Acrobat install

  • Crash reproduces under Rosetta as well

  • Preferences reset

  • No third-party plugins or fonts involved

 

Crash summary

  • Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)

  • Triggered Thread: 0 (main thread)

  • Crash location: Acrobat.framework during startup (RunAcrobat → main)

 

This appears to be a core compatibility issue between Acrobat 25.001.20997 and macOS 26.x on Apple Silicon, rather than a local configuration problem.

 

I have uploaded the full crash report available and can upload or attach it if needed.

Please advise on next steps or whether this is a known issue with an upcoming fix.

 

Thank you.

1 reply

P
Pranav_SaxenaAuthor
January 12, 2026

Update:

This crash occurs on first launch, before UI or preferences load.

Reproduced on a clean macOS 26.2 install and under Rosetta.

Full crash report (.ips, uploaded as .txt) is attached above.

 

Posting in case others on macOS 26.x / Apple Silicon are seeing the same behavior.

T
Tariq Dar
Legend
January 13, 2026

Hi @Pranav_Saxena,

 

 

Sorry for the crash. Thanks for the details.

On macOS, a launch crash with EXC_BAD_ACCESS usually points to a bad startup state, a 3rd‑party plug‑in, or an activation issue.
Please try:

  1. Update Acrobat from Creative Cloud Desktop (or Help → Check for Updates if you can open it briefly).
  2. Safe Boot your Mac and launch Acrobat once; if it opens, a background extension may be involved.
  3. Reset Acrobat preferences: quit Acrobat and remove ~/Library/Preferences/com.adobe.Acrobat*.plist and ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat/DC/Preferences, then relaunch.
  4. Temporarily move any plug‑ins from /Applications/Adobe https://adobe.ly/3LnW9h3 and ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Acrobat/DC/Plug-ins/ Then, relaunch (many startup crashes are caused by plug-in conflicts).
  5. If the dock shows Acrobat but no window appears, use Window → Zoom or disconnect any extra monitors and retry.
  6. If the issue persists, collect diagnostics (with advanced logging enabled) and macOS crash logs, upload them to a cloud drive, and share the link and Log ID here.
    We’ll analyze the logs and advise next steps.

Additionally, try uninstalling Acrobat using the Acrobat Cleaner Tool: https://adobe.ly/4sEynhm. Once uninstalled, try restarting the machine if possible, reinstalling the app, and checking the issue. 

 

 

Best regards,
Tariq | Adobe Community Team

P
Pranav_SaxenaAuthor
January 13, 2026
Hi Tariq,
Thank you for the detailed steps. I wanted to clarify that I have already performed all of the troubleshooting actions you mentioned, including during a prior session with Adobe Technical Support where a support engineer took remote control of my Mac and carried out these steps directly.
As part of that process, the following were already completed:
• Full removal of Acrobat using the Acrobat Cleaner Tool
• Fresh reinstall from the official installer
• Resetting Acrobat preferences
• Removal of all third-party plugins
• Clearing Acrobat cache and library folders
• Testing on a clean macOS installation
Despite this, the crash was consistently reproducible on launch (before UI or preferences load), which is why I shared the crash report indicating an EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV) during startup. I have also attached the support interaction transcript for reference.
Please let me know what additional diagnostics or next-level steps you would recommend, or if there are specific logs or debug information I can provide to help isolate the root cause further.
Thanks for your assistance.
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