dbcve.org
Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-27791

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) is affected by a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability due to insecure processing of a font, potentially resulting in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires user interaction in that a victim must open a crafted .pdf 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 a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in its font processing component. When parsing a PDF file with a specially crafted malicious font, the application fails to properly validate the size of font data before copying it to a fixed-size stack buffer, allowing an attacker to overwrite stack memory and potentially achieve arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to a version newer than 22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, or 17.012.30205. Until patched, advise 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. Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Check for Adobe installation by searching for the executable. On Windows, look in C:\Program Files\Adobe\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\ for folders named 'Acrobat' or 'Acrobat Reader'. Alternatively, check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\ or HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Adobe\ for product entries.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version number
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat, then navigate to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Alternatively, right-click the executable file (e.g., AcroRd32.exe or AcroDist.exe in the installation folder) and select Properties to view the File Version. This version follows the format such as 22.001.20085 or 20.005.30314.
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or the product is not found
  3. Compare against affected version ranges for Acrobat DC/Reader DC (2022 versions)
    If the installed version starts with 15.x, 21.x, or 22.x, check if it falls within 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085 inclusive. The version number format is major.minor.build (e.g., 22.001.20085). Compare numerically: any version from 15.008.20082 up to and including 22.001.20085 is affected.
    Affected if The version is >= 15.008.20082 AND <= 22.001.20085
  4. Compare against affected version ranges for Acrobat/Reader 2017 (17.x)
    If the installed version starts with 17.x, check if it falls within 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205 inclusive. Any version from 17.011.30059 up to and including 17.012.30205 is affected.
    Affected if The version is >= 17.011.30059 AND <= 17.012.30205
  5. Compare against affected version ranges for Acrobat/Reader 2020 (20.x)
    If the installed version starts with 20.x, check if it falls within 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314 or 20.005.30311 inclusive. Note that the upper bound differs slightly between product streams (30314 vs 30311). Any version from 20.001.30005 up to these upper bounds is affected.
    Affected if The version is >= 20.001.30005 AND (<= 20.005.30314 OR <= 20.005.30311)

The system is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is installed and its installed version falls within any of the affected ranges: 15.008.20082 to 22.001.20085, 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.3031x.

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. Until patched, advise users to avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat DC 22.001.20086+ / Acrobat Reader DC 22.001.20086+ (and corresponding 20.x and 17.x stable channel releases beyond the affected versions)

  1. 1. Verify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader)
  2. 2. Close all Adobe applications completely before proceeding with the update
  3. 3. Open Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader
  4. 4. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates or use the built-in update mechanism
  5. 5. Alternatively, download the latest version directly from the official Adobe website at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
  6. 6. Install the updated version, ensuring you select the appropriate version for your operating system
  7. 7. After installation, verify the version number matches or exceeds the fixed release (22.001.20086 or later for DC; 20.005.30315 or later for 20.x versions; 17.012.30206 or later for 17.x versions)
Caveat Standard version upgrade; ensure compatibility with existing PDF workflows and plugins; enterprise deployments should test in controlled environment first

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-27791 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-27791 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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