Bug report: Adobe Reader freezes after canceling password entry

[henrie_8913]

When I want to open a secure PDF, I am first prompted to enter the password. Since I do not know the password, I click cancel and the Reader closes.

The problem is that after doing this, I can only open a different (not protected) PDF again after removing the old Reader from Task Manager. 

It seems that Adobe Reader remains stuck after clicking cancel in the password screen.

[creative explorer]

@henrie_8913 The process remains active in your Task Manager, preventing a new instance of Reader from launching correctly until you manually end the task. Instead of clicking "Cancel," try closing the PDF window itself using the standard 'X' button in the corner of the application window. This sometimes allows the application to close the process cleanly.

[EdgarTeoh]

I got the same problem, but using 'X' button is not working for me.

[AnandSri]

Hello @EdgarTeoh, and @henrie_8913

I hope you are doing well, and thank you for reaching out.

Please ensure you have the latest version of Acrobat installed on the machine: 25.001.20756 Planned update, Oct 01, 2025. Check for any pending updates by navigating to Menu > Help> Check for Updates. Install the updates, restart the app and the machine, and try again.

Disable Protected Mode (Temporary Test): Navigate to Menu > Preferences > Security (Enhanced). Uncheck “Enable Protected Mode at startup”. Restart Acrobat Reader. Please enable the security settings after the test.  

If the issue continues, please provide the following information: the current version of the operating system on your device and the logs from the affected machine. To collect the logs, download and run the Log Collector tool. Ensure that you select all log options and attempt to reproduce the issue. After that, close the Log Collector tool; it will generate the logs along with a log ID. Please share this log ID with us for further investigation.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

[SLA-BD]

@AnandSri 

I have this problem as well.

I have version 25.001.20756 of Acrobat. I will message you separately with the memory dump file.

Thanks,

Miles

[SLA-BD]

Actually, the message tool won't allow files.  Is this the appropriate place to upload the file?  Does it have any identifying information which I wouldn't want to share in a public forum?

[AnandSri]

Hello @SLA-BD

I hope you are doing well.

You can collect the logs, share the link and the log ID, and other information like OS details, screen recording by direct/private message. Please click on my community user profile name, then select message. Please add the link and title of this community post in your message.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

[EdgarTeoh]

Hi Anand,
I'm using 25.001.20756 Planned update, Oct 01, 2025<>, your solution not working. I can't provide the dump file due the file size is too big, event after zip still oversize as email attachment.

Regards,
Edgar Teoh

[EdgarTeoh]

Hi Anand,
I'm using 25.001.20756 Planned update, Oct 01, 2025<>, your solution not working. I can't provide the dump file due the file size is too big about 300mb.

[henrie_8913]

Hello Anand, I am using the newest version: 25.001.20756 Planned update, Oct 01, 2025, check for updates gives no newer version.

I just tested something else, and when I try to open the secure PDF from Adobe Reader, it works fine: after the password sacherm is canceled, I return to Adobe Reader and can then close it. However, if I double-click on the secure PDF file to open it from Explorer, Adobe Reader does not close properly and blocks new sessions.

It seems to me that you can easily reproduce this.

[AnandSri]

Hello @EdgarTeoh

I hope you are doing well, and thank you for sharing the details.

We'll try to reproduce the issue, however, can you please collect the logs and share it with us so that we can identify the root cause, and work on a fix? 

If you have the logs, you can upload them to Google Drive and share the link here. Alternatively, you can use any other cloud storage service to upload the logs and generate a share link.

Thanks,

Anand Sri

[henrie_8913]

Hello Anand,

I tried to create te crashdumps, but the folder stays empty. I think Adobe Reader does not crash, it just hangs.

I discovered that the problem only exists if the Adobe Reader is not opened if you double click on a secured PDF from explorer. If Adobe Reader is already opened, it can be normally closed after the password window is cancelled.

I hope you can solve this problem without the crash reports.

Henrie

[henrie_8913]

I have this problem on a Windows 10 pro and Windows 11 pro machine.

[AnandSri]

Hello @henrie_8913

Thank you for sharing the details. Could you please run this log collector tool? Reproduce the issue, then save the logs and share them with us. We wll try to reproduce the issue on Acrobat as well as on Acrobat Reader.

Regards,

Anand Sri.

[henrie_8913]

I collected the logs, this is the Log ID: 1f4f150d-3a29-460d-8290-16e546f62b43

[henrie_8913]

I noticed in the Process Monitor that at the end a lot of treads were closed, but it ends with opening of a tread. I think this tread is the problem.

[EdgarTeoh]

Hi Anand,

Add-on @henrie_8913 's replied, It seem after clicked "Cancel" or "X" button, Acrobat switch as "App" to "Background processes" that's why Acrobat cannot show, it became backend services.  

[AnandSri]

Thank you, @henrie_8913, for sharing the log ID.

@EdgarTeoh, Thank you for sharing the recording, which will be very helpful in isolating the issue. We have reported this to the product team for further investigation. I will share an update here once we get a fix or workaround on this.

Regards,

Anand Sri.