In October 2013, Adobe publicly disclosed a breach affecting at least 38 million active user accounts. The full scope, revealed later, exceeded 150 million records. Attackers accessed customer IDs, debit and credit card data, and passwords that had been encrypted — not hashed — using a weak scheme in which identical passwords always produced identical encrypted output.
Quick answer — was Adobe breached?
Yes. Adobe was breached in October 2013, exposing 152,445,165 records including email addresses, password hints, passwords. This breach has been independently verified. If your email was involved, your data may still be at risk today. Check if you were affected.
In October 2013, Adobe publicly disclosed a breach affecting at least 38 million active user accounts. The full scope, revealed later, exceeded 150 million records. Attackers accessed customer IDs, debit and credit card data, and passwords that had been encrypted — not hashed — using a weak scheme in which identical passwords always produced identical encrypted output.
The encryption method allowed security researchers to analyse statistical patterns across millions of records and reconstruct a significant portion of the plaintext passwords without ever obtaining a decryption key. Published frequency tables effectively turned the database into a puzzle solvable through analysis alone.
Adobe paid $1.1 million in legal fees related to the breach and later settled a class action lawsuit. The incident is still used in security training to illustrate the critical difference between encryption and hashing for password storage. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
The encryption method allowed security researchers to analyse statistical patterns across millions of records and reconstruct a significant portion of the plaintext passwords without ever obtaining a decryption key. Published frequency tables effectively turned the database into a puzzle solvable through analysis alone.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach.
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Password hints — can be used to access your accounts directly or cracked to reveal your actual password
Passwords — can be used to access your accounts directly or cracked to reveal your actual password
Usernames — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
October 3, 2013
Adobe publicly discloses a breach, initially reporting approximately 2.9 million affected active user accounts
October 2013
Security researcher analysis reveals a 10 GB file containing more than 150 million records — the disclosed count was a significant understatement
November 2013
Researchers publish analysis showing that password hints stored in plaintext could be used to reconstruct millions of actual passwords without decrypting the data
August 2015
Adobe settles a class action lawsuit for $1.1 million in legal fees; the company had also separately agreed to pay $1 million to state attorneys general
Yes. Stolen data from the Adobe breach remains dangerous years after the incident. Attackers routinely compile data from multiple breaches to build complete profiles, and credentials from 2013 are still actively used in automated attacks today.
Personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth does not expire. Even if you changed your Adobe password, the other exposed data can be combined with information from other breaches to target you. Learn how long stolen data stays dangerous.
Change your Adobe password immediately
Log into Adobe and change your password to something strong and unique — one you have never used anywhere else.
Change any account sharing that password
If you reused this password elsewhere, change it on every affected account. Attackers test stolen credentials against hundreds of popular sites within hours.
Enable two-factor authentication
Turn on 2FA on Adobe and every important account. Even if your password is known, attackers cannot access the account without the second factor.
Check your other accounts for this breach
Run a full email scan to see every breach your address appears in — not just this one.
Check all my breaches — freeBreach pages are built from structured breach records and reviewed for practical risk guidance by EmailLeaked. Risk labels reflect exposed data types and are intended to help readers prioritise action.
Other major breaches
Check if your email appeared in the Adobe breach and 1010+ other known breaches — free, instant, no signup.
Check my email — freeCheck if your email is compromised in seconds. Free, private, no signup. Scan millions of breach records across 1011+ known breaches.
Check my email now — it's freeNo signup required · Results in under 5 seconds · Your data is never stored