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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28230

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 the acroform event 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

A use-after-free vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC's acroform event processing. The vulnerability occurs when the software handles specific form events, allowing an attacker to free memory and then access it after it's been deallocated, leading to arbitrary code execution 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 as applicable. Until patched, instruct users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files, particularly those containing acroform elements.

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. Check Adobe Acrobat or Reader DC version
    Open the application, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number appears in the dialog box. Alternatively, check the installed program version via Windows Programs and Features or macOS Applications folder.
    Affected if The displayed version falls within 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085 for DC products, or within 17.011.30059-17.012.30205, 20.001.30005-20.005.30314, or 20.001.30005-20.005.30311 for classic products.
  2. Identify product type (DC vs Classic)
    In the About dialog, look for 'DC' in the product name - if present, it is the Continuous track. If not, it is the Classic track. DC versions start with 15.x, 22.x etc., while Classic versions start with 17.x or 20.x.
    Affected if You are running either the DC track between versions 15.008.20082 and 22.001.20085, or the Classic track within any of the affected ranges.
  3. Determine if acroform processing is accessible
    This vulnerability requires a PDF with acroform fields to be opened. Check if users in your environment commonly open PDF files, particularly from external or untrusted sources. Inspect sample PDFs using a tool like pdfid or pdftk to identify files containing /AcroForm or /XFA keywords.
    Affected if Users process PDF documents containing acroform elements, and those PDFs originate from untrusted sources.
  4. Assess user privilege context
    The vulnerability leads to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Check which accounts run Adobe Acrobat or Reader - whether standard user accounts or privileged/administrative accounts.
    Affected if Adobe products run with elevated privileges, as this would give the attacker more extensive system access upon exploitation.

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader DC/Classic is installed with a version number matching any of the affected ranges AND users process PDF files containing acroform elements from potentially untrusted sources.

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 untrusted PDF files, particularly those containing acroform elements.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC version 22.001.20093 or later; version 20.005.30320 or later; version 17.012.30209 or later (or the latest available version per release track)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC on your system.
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC).
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for and install the latest available updates.
  4. 4. Alternatively, download the latest version directly from the official Adobe website: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat).
  5. 5. Verify the installed version by checking Help > About to confirm you are running a version newer than the vulnerable releases (22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, or 17.012.30205).
Caveat Standard update; no major breaking changes expected for routine security patching

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
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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-2022-28230 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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