CVE-2022-27800
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 · uneditedAcrobat 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 annotations 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 confidenceA use-after-free vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC's annotation processing functionality. When processing maliciously crafted PDF files with specially crafted annotations, the software fails to properly manage memory, allowing an attacker to corrupt memory and potentially execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires user interaction—specifically opening a malicious PDF file.
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>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.001.20085>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.001.20085>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30205>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30314>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30311>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30205>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30314>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30311CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Adobe productOpen Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Alternatively, on Windows check the program's file properties or look in Add/Remove Programs.Affected if The installed product is Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC (Continuous, Classic 2020, or Classic 2017 tracks)
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Determine exact version numberNote the full version number displayed in the About dialog. For Windows, you can also check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\<version>\InstallPath or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat\<version>\InstallPath for the installed version string.Affected if Version cannot be determined or is within the affected ranges
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Compare version against affected rangesCompare your installed version to these ranges: Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085; Acrobat/Reader 2017: 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205; Acrobat/Reader 2020: 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314 or 20.005.30311 depending on track.Affected if Installed version falls within any of these affected ranges (15.008.20082-22.001.20085, 17.011.30059-17.012.30205, 20.001.30005-20.005.30314/20.005.30311)
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Verify annotation feature is accessibleOpen any PDF file and attempt to use annotation tools (Comment > Add Sticky Note, or any annotation tool in the toolbar). The vulnerability exists in the annotation processing code.Affected if Annotation tools are available and the application processes PDF annotations
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Check for recent PDF handling activityReview recent PDF files opened. The vulnerability is triggered when opening a maliciously crafted PDF with specially crafted annotations.Affected if Users have opened untrusted or externally sourced PDF files with annotations
User is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC is installed with a version number within 15.008.20082-22.001.20085, 17.011.30059-17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005-20.005.30314/20.005.30311 and users can open PDF files with annotations.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedUsers should update Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest version (22.001.20117 or later for Continuous track, 20.005.3033 or later for Classic 2020 track, 17.012.30210 or later for Classic 2017 track). Organizations should also implement controls to prevent users from opening untrusted PDF files and deploy enterprise patch management.
Adobe Acrobat Reader DC / Acrobat DC version 22.001.20093 or later (or the latest available release)
- 1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application, selecting 'Help' > 'About Adobe Acrobat Reader' (or 'About Adobe Acrobat' for the full product)
- 2. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader from the official Adobe website at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
- 3. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
- 4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
- 5. Restart the application and confirm the version has been updated to a version newer than the affected releases (22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, or 17.012.30205)
- 6. Ensure User Account Control (UAC) is enabled and users run with least privilege to limit impact of any potential exploitation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-27800 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-27800 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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