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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28255

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 files. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of an allocated memory structure, which could be leveraged by an attacker to bypass ASLR security mitigations. Exploitation requires user interaction, specifically opening a malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version. Until patched, exercise caution when opening PDF files from untrusted sources and disable JavaScript in Reader settings to reduce attack surface.

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. Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Check for Adobe Acrobat or Reader installation in typical locations: Windows: Check Program Files\Adobe\ or Program Files (x86)\Adobe\, or use Add/Remove Programs. Mac: Check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.app
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader software is present on the system
  2. Determine installed version number
    Windows: Right-click the Adobe application in Start menu, select Properties, and view the Version field. Alternatively, right-click the executable in Program Files and select Properties > Details. Mac: Right-click the application in Applications folder, select Get Info, and view the Version field.
    Affected if Version falls within the affected ranges: 15.008.20082 to 22.001.20085 (Acrobat/Reader DC); 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30205 or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30314/20.005.30311 (Acrobat/Reader classic)
  3. Confirm the application can open PDF files
    Attempt to open any existing PDF file with the installed Adobe application, or verify file associations are set to use the installed Adobe product for PDF files.
    Affected if PDF files are configured to open with the affected Adobe application, enabling the attack vector (user must open a malicious PDF)
  4. Check for JavaScript execution enabled in Reader settings
    Open Adobe Reader/Acrobat, go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript, and verify if JavaScript is enabled. This is relevant because some exploit chains may leverage JavaScript in PDFs.
    Affected if JavaScript is enabled in Reader/Acrobat settings, which may increase exploitability but is not strictly required for the out-of-bounds read itself

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is installed with a version number within the ranges 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085, 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314/20.005.30311, and the software is configured to open 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 when opening PDF files from untrusted sources and disable JavaScript in Reader settings to reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat and Reader 22.001.2012 or later, 20.005.3034 or later, and 17.012.3023 or later (depending on your product track)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader on your system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or use the update mechanism in your version)
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for and install the latest updates
  4. 4. Alternatively, download the latest version from the official Adobe website: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
  5. 5. Verify the version by going to Help > About Adobe Acrobat [Reader] and confirm the version number is past the vulnerable releases
Caveat Standard Adobe update - minimal risk; ensure backups of critical PDFs 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
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2022-28255 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