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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-27785

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 22.001.20085 (and earlier), 20.005.3031x (and earlier) and 17.012.30205 (and earlier) are affected by a use-after-free vulnerability in the processing of fonts 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's font processing functionality. When processing a maliciously crafted PDF file containing specially designed fonts, the software fails to properly manage memory allocation, leading to a use-after-free condition. This memory corruption can be leveraged by an attacker to achieve arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to a version newer than 22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, or 17.012.30205 as applicable. Until patched, instruct users to avoid opening PDF files from untrusted 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 product
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number appears in the dialog box.
    Affected if Any of the following products are installed: Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  2. Check the version number against affected ranges
    Compare your installed version to the following affected ranges: For Acrobat/Reader DC: 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085; For Acrobat/Reader (classic): 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314 (Reader) / 20.005.30311 (Acrobat).
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges.
  3. Verify the font processing feature is accessible
    Confirm that the application can open and process PDF documents containing embedded fonts. This is standard behavior for Acrobat Reader and cannot be disabled.
    Affected if PDF documents with embedded fonts can be opened in the application.
  4. Assess the user's document handling practices
    Determine whether the user opens PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources, as the vulnerability is triggered by opening a maliciously crafted PDF with specially designed fonts.
    Affected if The user opens PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources, which would enable exploitation.

The environment is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number within the specified affected ranges and the user opens PDF files from any source.

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 a version newer than 22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, or 17.012.30205 as applicable. Until patched, instruct users to avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Adobe Acrobat DC 2023 (22.006.x or later) or the latest available version. Specific fixed versions per Adobe security bulletin: 22.002.x or later, 20.006.x or later, 17.013.x or later

  1. 1. Close all Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader instances
  2. 2. Navigate to the Adobe Acrobat download page or use your organization's software distribution method
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader DC (2023 release or latest available)
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  5. 5. Restart your computer if prompted
  6. 6. Verify the installed version by opening Adobe Acrobat/Reader and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader
Caveat Standard upgrade - review Adobe's system requirements for your OS. Ensure compatibility with existing PDF workflows and any plugins.

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2022-27785 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