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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28250

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 a use-after-free vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. 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

A use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC allows attackers to access freed memory, potentially disclosing sensitive information. The flaw can be exploited to bypass ASLR security mitigations. Successful exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version. 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
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 product
    Open Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) to view the version and build number. Alternatively, on Windows check Programs and Features for the installed version, or on macOS right-click the application in Applications and select Get Info.
    Affected if The product name is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader, or any variant like Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader DC.
  2. Determine exact version number
    Note the full version string shown in the About dialog (for example, 21.001.20093). This contains both the major version and the specific build number within that version.
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or is unknown.
  3. Compare against affected DC versions
    Check if the installed version falls within the DC range: version 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085 inclusive. For DC products, the version format typically shows as 22.x.x.xxxx or 21.x.x.xxxx or similar.
    Affected if The version is 15.008.20082 or higher AND 22.001.20085 or lower.
  4. Compare against affected Classic versions (2017)
    Check if the installed version falls within the Classic 2017 range: version 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205 inclusive.
    Affected if The version is 17.011.30059 or higher AND 17.012.30205 or lower.
  5. Compare against affected Classic versions (2020)
    Check if the installed version falls within the Classic 2020 range: version 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314 (or 20.005.30311 depending on product) inclusive.
    Affected if The version is 20.001.30005 or higher AND 20.005.30314 or lower (or 20.005.30311 for Reader).

If the installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version falls within any of these ranges (15.008.20082-22.001.20085 for DC, 17.011.30059-17.012.30205 for Classic 2017, or 20.001.30005-20.005.30314/30311 for Classic 2020), the environment is vulnerable and the user is affected.

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. Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader Continuous: 22.001.2012+ | Classic 2020: 20.005.3034+ | Classic 2017: 17.012.3023+

  1. Identify which Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader track is installed (Continuous, Classic 2020, or Classic 2017) by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
  2. For Continuous track users: Upgrade to version 22.001.2012 or later
  3. For Classic 2020 track users: Upgrade to version 20.005.3034 or later
  4. For Classic 2017 track users: Upgrade to version 17.012.3023 or later
  5. Download the updated version from the official Adobe website (helpx.adobe.com) or use the built-in update checker via Help > Check for Updates
  6. Restart the application after installation completes
  7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the recommended fixed version for your track
Caveat Standard Adobe update - may require restart and acceptance of new license terms. Ensure compatibility with any existing PDF workflows or integrations before deploying broadly.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,900
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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-2022-28250 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