dbcve.org
Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28249

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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC's file parsing logic when processing a crafted PDF file. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of an allocated memory structure, potentially leaking sensitive memory contents that could be leveraged to bypass ASLR mitigation. Exploitation requires user interaction—specifically, the victim must open a malicious PDF file.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security update to Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version for the respective release track (22.001.2012x, 20.005.3034x, or 17.012.3023x and later). Until patched, avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown 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
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. Identify installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader product
    Open Adobe Acrobat/Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat). Alternatively, on Windows check Add/Remove Programs or the Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\InstallPath, and on Mac check /Applications for the application bundle.
    Affected if The product name shows Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC/Classic.
  2. Determine the exact version number
    Note the full version string displayed in the About dialog. The version format varies by product track: for DC it appears as something like 22.001.20085; for Classic 2017/2020 it appears as 17.x.xxxxx or 20.x.xxxxx.
    Affected if A version number is displayed and matches the format of the affected ranges.
  3. Compare DC track version against affected range
    For Adobe Acrobat DC or Acrobat Reader DC, verify if the installed version falls between 15.008.20082 and 22.001.20085 (inclusive). Extract the three-digit version components (e.g., 22.001.20085).
    Affected if The version is 15.008.20082 or higher AND 22.001.20085 or lower.
  4. Compare Classic 2017 version against affected range
    For Adobe Acrobat/Reader (Classic 2017 track), check if version is between 17.011.30059 and 17.012.30205 (inclusive).
    Affected if The version is 17.011.30059 or higher AND 17.012.30205 or lower.
  5. Compare Classic 2020 version against affected range
    For Adobe Acrobat/Reader (Classic 2020 track), check if version falls between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30314 (inclusive) or between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30311 (inclusive) depending on the specific sub-release.
    Affected if The version is 20.001.30005 or higher AND 20.005.30314 or lower (or 20.005.30311 or lower for the second range).

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (DC or Classic tracks) is installed with a version within any of the specified vulnerable ranges, and they open a maliciously crafted PDF file.

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 update to Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version for the respective release track (22.001.2012x, 20.005.3034x, or 17.012.3023x and later). Until patched, avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Latest version of Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader (22.001.2012+, 20.005.3034+, or 17.012.3023+ depending on your product line)

  1. 1. Identify the installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version from the Help > About menu
  2. 2. Determine which product line and version branch applies (Acrobat DC/Reader DC vs. classic Acrobat/Reader)
  3. 3. For Acrobat DC / Acrobat Reader DC: Upgrade to version 22.001.2012 or later
  4. 4. For classic Acrobat / Acrobat Reader: Upgrade to version 20.005.3034 or later for the 20.x branch, or 17.012.3023 or later for the 17.x branch
  5. 5. Download the latest version from the official Adobe Acrobat download page or use the Adobe Update Server
  6. 6. Run the installer and restart the application after update
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release for your branch
Caveat Standard upgrade; ensure compatibility with other Adobe products in your environment

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-28249 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-28249 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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