Application Error - Memory Could Not Be Read

[Zurcher Tire IT]

When opening a PDF from an email attachment (without saving it locally), Acrobat displays the following error:

"The instruction at 0x00007FF93712D24D referenced memory at
0x0000000000000018. The memory could not be read."

However, if the same file is first saved to the desktop and opened from there, no error occurs. The issue reappears immediately when attempting to open any file from Outlook or from a protected location such as the Temp directory.

Troubleshooting Steps Performed:

1. Error Isolation & Behavior:

   • Confirmed that the issue only occurs when opening from Outlook or other temporary/protected paths.

   • Reproduced issue consistently on multiple attempts.

2. Protected View Behavior:

   • When Protected View is enabled for “Files from potentially unsafe locations”, the error does not occur unless the user clicks “Enable Editing”, at which point the error is triggered.

3. Dump & Analysis:

   • Used ProcDump to capture a full memory dump at the moment the error message appears.

   • Analyzed the dump in WinDbg Preview.

   • Found WebView2Loader.dll and related modules loaded at time of exception, along with sandboxed components of Acrobat (e.g., AcroRd32, Updater, CoolType).

4. WebView2 Reinstallation:

   • Attempted full uninstall of WebView2 Runtime using PowerShell, Win32_Product, and registry checks.

   • Reinstalled using the Evergreen Standalone Installer.

   • Error persisted after reinstallation.

5. Application Repair:

   • Ran a full repair of Acrobat via Windows Settings > Apps > Adobe Acrobat > Repair.

   • Also attempted uninstall/reinstall of Acrobat.

6. System Environment:

   • Windows 11 Pro, up to date.

   • Microsoft Outlook (M365), default mail client.

   • Adobe Acrobat DC, latest build, continuous track.

   • WebView2 Runtime: 137.0.3296.93

This may be a result of how Acrobat initializes WebView2 components in non-trusted or sandboxed contexts (such as temp files from Outlook). Something in the transition from Protected View to full access seems to trigger an internal fault—possibly an access violation or failed library initialization.

This could involve:

• Permission handling in the Protected Mode sandbox

• Failures in the WebView2-based UI renderer

• Inconsistent DLL loading or version mismatches between Acrobat modules

[carlosv11156870]

Also seeing this error.  In Outlook (new) we are experiencing this behaviour with Adobe Acrobat Pro (64-bit) (25.001.20531)

If launching from local like the Downloads folder, no issue.  If using the Outook (Classic) app there is no issue.

Thank you, OP for doing the work and documenting it here.  Looking forward to a resolution.

[Zurcher Tire IT]

Did not think to try it in Outlook Classic. Thank you as well!

[Tariq Ahmad]

Hi, 

Sorry for the troubled experience, and thank you for reaching out. 
This issue is currently known to us and the product team is actively working on triaging this issue.  

Thank you for your patience and support. 

~Tariq

[Zurcher Tire IT]

Hi Tariq,

Thanks for the update. I appreciate it