Adobe Acrobat Standard stops working after connecting to VPN

[TMV Competenc36977101luwb]

We have issue regarding Adobe Acrobat Standard product, main issue is: after VPN connection is not possible to work with Adobe Acrobat Standard, because software become iresponding, shows (not responding). After VPN disconnection product works fine. This issue with all users who have license "Adobe Acrobat Standard ". Maybe someone has encountered this problem? And do you have any ideas how to solve it?

[creative explorer]

@TMV Competenc36977101luwb It seems that Acrobat Standard is having trouble interacting with your VPN connection, causing it to become unresponsive. This could be due to network conflicts, security restrictions, or compatibility issues between Acrobat and your VPN software. To troubleshoot, start by checking if your VPN software and Acrobat Standard are updated to their latest versions, as updates often include bug fixes and compatibility improvements. If the issue persists, try temporarily disabling any firewall or security software that might be interfering with Acrobat's network access. Additionally, investigate your VPN settings to see if there are any options related to application filtering or network restrictions that might be affecting Acrobat. If the problem continues, contacting both your VPN provider and your IT TEAM might be necessary to identify the root cause and find a solution.

[fabian_2625]

We are experiencing exactly the same issue with Adobe Acrobat Standard licenses when using an active SSL VPN connection with the FortiClient. Once the VPN is connected, Acrobat becomes unresponsive, but it works fine after disconnecting the VPN.

Have you found any solution to this problem?

[Tariq Ahmad]

Hi @fabian_2625, 

Sorry for the troubled experience, and thanks for reaching out. 

Is it possible for you to record this behavior and share a video with us? 

Also, you may try launching Acrobat first, then connecting the PN, and checking if the behavior changes to not working.

Also, help us with the logs:

1. Diagnostic logs: https://adobe.ly/4jivqha share the log ID. 

2. Give us the Charles or Fiddler logs. 

Thank you for your patience. Looking forward to your response!

~Tariq

[fabian_2625]

Hi Tariq,

Thanks for your response. In the meantime, I've progressed with the troubleshooting and found that Acrobat Standard freezes for about a minute whenever the software tries to communicate with ec2-34-252-184-159.eu-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com over HTTPS.

These freezes only occur when the VPN is active (split tunnel setup).
Internally within the company, it works fine with the same firewall settings, and externally without VPN it also works without issues.

So far, I don’t know what we can do to resolve this—other than using a different PDF application when connected via VPN.

[ls_rbls]

Hi @fabian_2625 ,

Is this happenning on Window 10 or 11 clients?

In any case, does this happens even if the FortiClient VPN software is updated to its latest version? 

Does the problem manifests on both, the free version or paid version of FortiClient?

Sounds to me like an issue with TLS /SSL configuration needs attention, to include Amazon AWS end-points at the VPN firewall level (if you are using those cloud services), or maybe, just maybe, the underlying issue could be related to importing generic self-signed SSL certificates from the server instead of using official signed CA certificates .

What happens if instead of just using Split Tunneling alone you employ it with Port Fowarding (or a combination of both techniques)?

Have you contact the FortClient support yet as suggested by @creative explorer ?

[fabian_2625]

Hi ls_rbls

Thank you for your answer

Summary of My Situation: 

Operating System: Windows 11

1. FortiClient Version: 7.4.2.1737 (latest)

2. Edition: Free version

3. Firewall: Internally (on-site), access works fine using the same firewall rules. For testing, I also temporarily disabled the filter – no blocks are visible in the logs.

4. VPN Configuration: We're using Split Tunneling. Port Forwarding is not configured and would require further evaluation as it's more complex in our environment.

5. Issue Scope: The problem only affects Adobe services, such as Adobe Acrobat. Other applications work fine.

6. Support Contact: I haven’t contacted Fortinet support yet, as I'm still trying to determine whether the issue is on the FortiClient/VPN side or with Adobe.
   
   
   I will test your suggestions and check the TLS/SSL configuration

[davinal12]

Hi Adobe Community !

Same issue here. When and get connecting to SSL VPN with the forticlient, acrobat crashes and becomes unresponsive, i need to wait about 60 seconds to get responses again.

Any suggest ?

Thanks a lot !

[Dylan255723736grw]

Running into the same issue here, execept that it is an IPSEC tunnel in split-tunneling mode. No certficates or SSL are employeed. The FortiClient is used as teh VPN client. No traffic to Adobe should be going over the VPN tunnel, because the only traffic routed through the VPN are those intended for the internal private IP addresses at the office.

If we disconnect from the VPN the Acrobat software connects and works without issues. If the VPN is connected and Acrobat Pro (subscription) is started, then about 15-30 seconds it crashes and seems to be around the time the user's account is trying to sign-in and activate/auth the pro features.

If the VPN is disconnected, Acrobat is started and the Pro features are activated, then then the VPN is started, then Acrobat doesn't crash 15-30 seconds later and is usable for a length of time until it crashes again- it almost seems like Acrobat is 'checking-in' to the auth servers again, fails for whatever reason is causing the problem, and crashes the software.

If I sign the user out of Acrobat, close Acrobat, start the VPN, start Acrobat, then the software doesn't crash (but the software is not activated), but if I use the 'sign in' button nothing happens- the window doesn't show up. If I disconnect the VPN when I pressed sign-in and nothing showed up then IMMEDIATELY once the VPN disconnects the sign-in window appears.

I cannot find any evidence of any Acrobat traffic trying to go over the VPN tunnel. It seems like Adobe Acrobat doesn't 'like' a VPN being connected at all. What can we do to resolve this? It seems to be related to the software failing to auth/activate during a running session and closing/crashing itself because of it.

[Dylan255723736grw]

Running into the same issue here, execept that it is an IPSEC tunnel in split-tunneling mode. No certficates or SSL are employeed. The FortiClient is used as teh VPN client. No traffic to Adobe should be going over the VPN tunnel, because the only traffic routed through the VPN are those intended for the internal private IP addresses at the office.

If we disconnect from the VPN the Acrobat software connects and works without issues. If the VPN is connected and Acrobat Pro (subscription) is started, then about 15-30 seconds it crashes and seems to be around the time the user's account is trying to sign-in and activate/auth the pro features.

If the VPN is disconnected, Acrobat is started and the Pro features are activated, then then the VPN is started, then Acrobat doesn't crash 15-30 seconds later and is usable for a length of time until it crashes again- it almost seems like Acrobat is 'checking-in' to the auth servers again, fails for whatever reason is causing the problem, and crashes the software..

If I sign the user out of Acrobat, close Acrobat, start the VPN, start Acrobat, then the software doesn't crash (but the software is not activated), but if I use the 'sign in' button nothing happens- the window doesn't show up. If I disconnect the VPN when I pressed sign-in and nothing showed up then IMMEDIATELY once the VPN disconnects the sign-in window appears.

I cannot find any evidence of any Acrobat traffic trying to go over the VPN tunnel. It seems like Adobe Acrobat doesn't 'like' a VPN being connected at all. What can we do to resolve this? It seems to be related to the software failing to auth/activate during a running session and closing/crashing itself because of it.