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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28254

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 crafted PDF files. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of allocated memory structures, which could potentially be leveraged to bypass ASLR and other memory protection mitigations. Exploitation requires user interaction to open a malicious file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version. Until patched, exercise caution with untrusted PDF files and consider enabling Protected View for all files in Reader settings.

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 Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or Acrobat). The product name and version will be displayed in the dialog window.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC (not another Adobe product)
  2. Note the full version number
    Record the complete version string shown in the About dialog, for example: 22.001.20085 or 20.005.30314.
    Affected if A version number is displayed in the About dialog
  3. Compare Reader DC version against affected range
    If using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC, verify if the version falls between 15.008.20082 and 22.001.20085 (inclusive).
    Affected if Version is >= 15.008.20082 and <= 22.001.20085
  4. Compare classic Acrobat version against affected ranges
    If using Adobe Acrobat (classic) or Adobe Acrobat Reader (classic), check if version is: 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205, OR 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314, OR 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30311.
    Affected if Version falls within any of the listed classic version ranges

If the installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version matches any of the affected version ranges, the environment is potentially vulnerable when opening crafted PDF files.

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, exercise caution with untrusted PDF files and consider enabling Protected View for all files in Reader settings.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 22.001.2012+ (or 20.005.3034+, or 17.012.3023+) depending on your release track; Acrobat/Reader (classic): versions beyond 20.005.30314/17.012.30205

  1. 1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat/Reader version by opening the application, selecting 'Help' > 'About Adobe Acrobat/Reader'
  2. 2. For Acrobat DC/Reader DC users: Upgrade to version 22.001.2012 or later (if on 22.x track), or 20.005.3034 or later (if on 20.x track), or 17.012.3023 or later (if on 17.x track)
  3. 3. For Acrobat/Reader (classic) users: Upgrade to a version greater than the affected version ranges listed (20.005.30314, 20.005.30311, 17.012.30205)
  4. 4. Download the latest version from the official Adobe website at get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat
  5. 5. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat/Reader before installing the update
  6. 6. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  7. 7. After installation, verify the new version by checking 'Help' > 'About Adobe Acrobat/Reader' confirms a version beyond the affected ranges
  8. 8. Ensure Automatic Updates are enabled to receive future security patches
Caveat Standard Adobe update - minimal risk; ensure backup of critical PDF files before major version upgrades

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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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-2022-28254 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