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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-27793

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 where a specially crafted PDF file can trigger memory corruption, leading to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Successful exploitation requires the victim to open a malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest version to obtain the security patch. Organizations should deploy updates via enterprise software distribution tools and verify installation.

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 system for Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader applications. On Windows, look in Program Files or Program Files (x86). On Mac, check /Applications folder.
    Affected if Any Adobe Acrobat or Reader variant is present on the system
  2. Determine installed version on Windows via registry
    Query the Windows Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat\DC\InstallVersion (or similarly for Reader). Read the 'Version' or 'ProductVersion' value.
    Affected if The registry shows a version number matching the affected ranges
  3. Determine installed version via application UI
    Open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader). Note the exact version number displayed.
    Affected if The displayed version falls within any of the affected 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
  4. Check version via command line on Windows
    Use WMIC or PowerShell: wmic product where "name like 'Adobe Acrobat%'" get version, name OR Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object {$_.Name -match 'Adobe'} | Select-Object Name, Version
    Affected if The command returns a version that falls within the affected ranges listed above

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version number between 15.008.20082 and 22.001.20085, or between 17.011.30059 and 17.012.30205, or between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30314, as these versions contain the vulnerable code that can be triggered by opening a malicious PDF file.

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 version to obtain the security patch. Organizations should deploy updates via enterprise software distribution tools and verify installation.

Recommended fix High confidence

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

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
  2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or use the Help menu)
  3. Allow the application to check for and install any available updates
  4. Alternatively, download the latest version from the official Adobe website: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
  5. Restart the application after the update completes
  6. Verify the installed version is newer than the vulnerable versions listed (22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, or 17.012.30205)
Caveat Standard minor version upgrade within same major release - minimal risk; standard Adobe update behavior

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-2022-27793 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