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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-24103

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2022-05-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 22.001.20085 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Acrobat Reader DC versions 20.001.20085 (and earlier), 20.005.3031x (and earlier) and 17.012.30205 (and earlier) are affected by a use-after-free vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This is a use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC that allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The flaw occurs when the software continues to use memory after it has been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to manipulate memory and execute malicious code. Exploitation requires a victim to open a specially crafted malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.001.20085
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.001.20085
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30205>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30314>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30311
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30205>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30314>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30311

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version
    Open the application, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader. Alternatively, on Windows check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version or on macOS check /Applications/Adobe Acrobat DC.app/Contents/Info.plist for CFBundleShortVersionString
    Affected if The displayed version falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085, 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205, 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314, or 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30311
  2. Confirm the exact product build number
    In the About dialog, note the full build number (for example, 22.001.20085). Compare this numeric build against the upper bounds of the affected ranges
    Affected if The build number is less than or equal to 22.001.20085 (for DC versions) or less than or equal to 20.005.30314 or 20.005.30311 (for Classic versions)
  3. Determine if JavaScript execution is enabled in the application
    Go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript and verify whether Enable Adobe JavaScript is checked
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled, as the vulnerability can be triggered when processing malicious JavaScript within a PDF file

You are affected if your installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version is within the listed affected ranges and you open untrusted PDF files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 22.001.20085
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat DC / Acrobat Reader DC version 22.001.20093 or later (or the latest available version from Adobe)

  1. 1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat/Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat
  2. 2. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader DC from the official Adobe website at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/
  3. 3. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade
  5. 5. After installation, verify the version has been updated to a version newer than the affected versions (22.001.20085, 20.005.30314, 17.012.30205)
Caveat Standard Adobe update - may require accepting new license terms; ensure compatibility with any integrated PDF workflows or plugins

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-24103 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data