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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28246

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 22.001.20085 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 bypass mitigations such as ASLR. 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 specially crafted PDF files. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of an allocated memory structure, which could be leveraged to bypass ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) security mitigations. Exploitation requires user interaction—the victim must open a malicious file.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security updates from Adobe for all three affected version branches (22.x, 20.x, and 17.x). Additionally, educate users to avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources, as exploitation requires user interaction.

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Locate installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader application
    Check the Windows registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat\DC\InstallVersion for the value "Version" or look in Add/Remove Programs for Adobe Acrobat/Reader entries
    Affected if The application is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (continuous track)
  2. Identify the exact installed version number
    In the Adobe application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat DC) to display the full version string (for example: 22.001.20085)
    Affected if The displayed version falls within the range 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085 for DC products
  3. Check Classic track version if DC is not present
    Check Add/Remove Programs or the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Acrobat\InstallVersion for Adobe Acrobat/Reader (Classic versions) and note the version
    Affected if The Classic version is 17.x (between 17.011.30059 and 17.012.30205) or 20.x (between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30314)
  4. Confirm PDF parsing functionality is available
    Verify the application can open and render PDF files, attempt to open any PDF or check that the application is not configured to block PDF rendering
    Affected if PDF files can be opened in the application (parsing is enabled by default)
  5. Compare version against all affected ranges
    If your version is 22.x, it must be <= 22.001.20085. If 20.x, it must be <= 20.005.30314. If 17.x, it must be <= 17.012.30205. All versions >= 15.008.20082 through these upper limits are affected
    Affected if The installed version number falls within any of the documented vulnerable ranges

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader DC (continuous) version is between 15.008.20082 and 22.001.20085, or Classic versions 17.x are between 17.011.30059 and 17.012.30205, or Classic versions 20.x are between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30314.

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

Apply the vendor-supplied security updates from Adobe for all three affected version branches (22.x, 20.x, and 17.x). Additionally, educate users to avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources, as exploitation requires user interaction.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 22.001.2012 or later; 20.005.30334 or later; 17.012.30223 or later (depending on your product line)

  1. 1. Determine the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader)
  2. 2. Based on your current version, download the corresponding fixed release: For 22.x versions, upgrade to 22.001.2012 or later; For 20.x versions, upgrade to 20.005.30334 or later; For 17.x versions, upgrade to 17.012.30223 or later
  3. 3. Download the fixed version from the official Adobe website (helpx.adobe.com) or your organization's software distribution point
  4. 4. Close all Adobe Acrobat/Reader instances and any applications with embedded PDF functionality
  5. 5. Run the installer for the fixed version with administrator privileges
  6. 6. After installation completes, verify the version by checking Help > About to confirm the patch level
Caveat Standard Adobe update carries minimal risk; ensure backups of critical PDF documents exist 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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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-2022-28246 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