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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28242

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 a use-after-free 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

A use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC versions 22.001.2011x and earlier, 20.005.3033x and earlier, and 17.012.3022x and earlier allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires the victim to open a malicious PDF file, making social engineering a likely attack vector.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version. Until patched, 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:3.1/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 the application in the installed programs list (Windows: Control Panel > Programs and Features, macOS: Applications folder). Look for 'Adobe Acrobat DC', 'Adobe Acrobat Reader DC', 'Adobe Acrobat', or 'Adobe Acrobat Reader'.
    Affected if The application is not installed.
  2. Identify the exact product name and version
    Open the application, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or About Adobe Reader). Alternatively, on Windows check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat\InstallPath for the version, or on macOS right-click the app in Applications and select Get Info to see the version number.
    Affected if No Adobe Acrobat or Reader product is found.
  3. Compare the installed version to affected ranges
    For Adobe Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader DC: check if version is between 15.008.20082 and 22.001.20085 inclusive. For Adobe Acrobat/Reader (classic): check if version falls in 17.011.30059-17.012.30205, 20.001.30005-20.005.30314, or 20.001.30005-20.005.30311.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of the listed affected ranges.
  4. Confirm the vulnerability trigger condition
    The flaw is triggered when a user opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file. This is the exploitation vector, not an environment misconfiguration.
    Affected if N/A - this describes how the flaw is exploited, not a detection condition.

The environment is affected if Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number matching any of the listed affected ranges (15.008.20082-22.001.20085 for DC products, or the specified classic version ranges).

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. Until patched, avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC / Acrobat DC version 22.001.2012 or later; version 20.005.3034 or later; version 17.012.3023 or later (or migrate to latest available release)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat 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 any available updates.
  4. 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. 5. Verify the installed version by going to Help > About and confirm it is beyond the vulnerable versions: Reader DC should be > 22.001.2011, 20.005.3033, or 17.012.3022 depending on your release track; Acrobat should be > 22.001.20085, > 20.005.30314, or > 17.012.30205.
Caveat Standard upgrade; ensure compatibility with existing PDF workflows and plugins 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
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2022-28242 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