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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28239

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 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 version 22.001.2011x (and earlier), 20.005.3033x (and earlier) and 17.012.3022x (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing a crafted file, which could result in a read past the end of an allocated memory structure. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to execute code 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

This is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC that occurs when parsing a crafted PDF file. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of an allocated memory structure, which could potentially be leveraged to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires user interaction (opening a malicious PDF).

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version beyond 22.001.2011x, 20.005.3033x, and 17.012.3022x. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted PDF files and enable protected view for all files.

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:3.1/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 installed version via Windows Registry: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat Reader\DC\Version, or check common install directory C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat DC
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is present on the system
  2. Determine installed product version
    Read the version value from the registry key or right-click the executable (e.g., AcroRd32.exe or AcroPro.exe) in Program Files, select Properties, and view the File Version field
    Affected if Version matches any of the affected ranges listed below
  3. Compare against affected version ranges
    Match your installed version to these ranges: For Acrobat/Reader DC (Continuous): 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085; For Acrobat/Reader 17.x: 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205; For Acrobat/Reader 20.x (Acrobat): 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314; For Acrobat/Reader 20.x (Reader): 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30311
    Affected if Installed version falls within any of these inclusive ranges
  4. Confirm PDF parsing functionality is available
    Verify the core PDF parsing components (AcroRd32.dll or AcroPDF.dll) exist in the installation directory - these are required for the vulnerable code path to execute when a PDF is opened
    Affected if PDF parsing DLLs are present and the application can open PDF files

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number within the ranges 15.008.20082-22.001.20085, 17.011.30059-17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005-20.005.30314/20.005.30311 depending on the product track.

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 patched version beyond 22.001.2011x, 20.005.3033x, and 17.012.3022x. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted PDF files and enable protected view for all files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC (Continuous): 22.001.20142 or later | Acrobat 2020 (Classic): 20.005.30434 or later | Acrobat 2017 (Classic): 17.012.30293 or later

  1. 1. Verify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version by opening the application, selecting 'Help' > 'About Adobe Acrobat Reader' (or 'About Adobe Acrobat').
  2. 2. Identify the product line and current version number from the 'About' dialog.
  3. 3. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader DC (Continuous track): Upgrade to version 22.001.20142 or later.
  4. 4. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 2020 (Classic track): Upgrade to version 20.005.30434 or later.
  5. 5. For Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 2017 (Classic track): Upgrade to version 17.012.30293 or later.
  6. 6. Download the appropriate updated version from the official Adobe website: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat).
  7. 7. Close all running instances of Adobe Acrobat or Reader.
  8. 8. Run the installer for the updated version and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
Caveat Standard Adobe update - minimal risk; ensure compatibility with any existing PDF workflows or integrations before deploying enterprise-wide

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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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-2022-28239 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