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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28243

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

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing crafted files. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of an allocated memory structure, which could be leveraged for code execution in the context of the current user. User interaction is required (opening a malicious PDF file).

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version beyond 22.001.2011x, 20.005.3033x, and 17.012.3022x. Implement user training to avoid opening untrusted PDF files as an additional layer of defense.

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. Identify installed Adobe product
    Open Adobe Acrobat/Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader to view the exact version number. Alternatively, check Add/Remove Programs or the application properties.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is installed with a version in the range 15.008.20082 to 22.001.20085
  2. Verify Classic track version
    For versions starting with 17.x or 20.x, check the exact build number in Help > About. Classic track versions include 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205 and 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314 or 20.005.30311.
    Affected if Version is 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30314 (or 20.005.30311 depending on product)
  3. Compare against all affected ranges
    Match your installed version against these ranges: DC versions 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085; Classic versions 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205; Classic versions 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314 or 20.005.30311.
    Affected if Installed version falls within any of the listed vulnerable ranges
  4. Confirm product usage triggers vulnerability
    The vulnerability triggers when parsing a crafted PDF file. The check is whether the installed version is vulnerable AND the user opens PDF files.
    Affected if The vulnerable version is installed AND the application is used to open PDF files

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader DC/Classic is installed with a version matching the ranges 15.008.20082-22.001.20085, 17.011.30059-17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005-20.005.30314/30311, and the application is used to open PDF documents.

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. Implement user training to avoid opening untrusted PDF files as an additional layer of defense.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader DC version 22.001.2012 or later; version 20.005.3034 or later; version 17.012.3023 or later

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader and navigate to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or About Adobe Reader) to confirm the current version number.
  2. 2. Compare your version against the vulnerable ranges: 15.008.20082 to 22.001.20085, 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30314/20.005.30311.
  3. 3. If your version is within any vulnerable range, download the latest Adobe Acrobat or Reader update from the official Adobe website at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat).
  4. 4. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat or Reader before running the installer.
  5. 5. Run the installer to apply the security update.
  6. 6. After installation, verify the new version by checking Help > About to confirm the update was successful.
Caveat Standard Adobe update - minimal risk; ensure user session is saved before updating

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-2022-28243 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