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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-27788

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 an out-of-bounds write 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

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a maliciously crafted PDF file. The vulnerability requires user interaction (opening the file) and executes in the context of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to a version newer than 22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, or 17.012.30205 to remediate this vulnerability.

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. Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Open the application and check Help > About, or locate the executable (Acrobat.exe or AdobeRD.exe) in Program Files and view its properties
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version number
    In the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat [Reader] DC, or right-click the executable and select Properties > Details to view the Product Version
    Affected if The version displayed cannot be determined or is not visible
  3. Compare against affected version ranges
    Match your installed version against the following ranges: Acrobat/Reader DC 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085; Acrobat/Reader 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205; Acrobat/Reader 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314 (or 20.005.30311 for some tracks)
    Affected if Your installed version falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082-22.001.20085, 17.011.30059-17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005-20.005.30314 (or 20.005.30311)
  4. Confirm the application handles PDF files
    Verify the installed product is configured to open PDF files (check file associations or try opening any PDF document)
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed but cannot open PDF files, meaning the attack surface does not exist

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number between 15.008.20082 and 22.001.20085 (DC versions) or between 17.011.30059 and 17.012.30205 / 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30314 (classic versions), and the application can open 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 a version newer than 22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, or 17.012.30205 to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 22.001.20093+ (2022), 20.005.30318+ (2020), 17.012.30207+ (2017); Acrobat/Reader classic 2020: 20.005.30318+; Acrobat/Reader classic 2017: 17.012.30207+

  1. 1. Verify the current installed version of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader by navigating to Help > About (or Acrobat Reader > About for Reader)
  2. 2. Identify which product line and version branch applies to your installation (Acrobat/Reader DC continuous, or Acrobat/Reader classic 2020/2017)
  3. 3. Download the latest patched version from the Adobe Acrobat downloads page (helpx.adobe.com) or your Adobe Admin Console
  4. 4. For Acrobat DC/Reader DC: Upgrade to version 22.001.20093 or later for the 2022 track, or 20.005.30318 or later for the 2020 track, or 17.012.30207 or later for the 2017 track
  5. 5. For Acrobat/Reader classic: Upgrade to version 20.005.30318 or later (2020 track) or 17.012.30207 or later (2017 track)
  6. 6. Close all Adobe applications before running the installer
  7. 7. Run the installer with administrative privileges
  8. 8. Restart the system after installation completes
Caveat Adobe updates may include feature changes; test critical workflows in a non-production environment before enterprise-wide deployment

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
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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-2022-27788 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