dbcve.org
Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28261

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 · moderate 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, potentially exposing memory addresses that could be used to bypass ASLR. Exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest version via Adobe's official channels. Until patched, instruct users to 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. Locate installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version
    Open Adobe Acrobat/Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number is displayed in the dialog box. Alternatively, on Windows check the program properties in Control Panel > Programs and Features, or on macOS check the application in Applications folder using Get Info.
    Affected if Version falls within any of the affected ranges: 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085 for DC variants; 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205, 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314, or 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30311 for classic versions.
  2. Confirm product variant and build
    Identify whether the installation is Acrobat DC, Acrobat Reader DC, classic Acrobat, or classic Acrobat Reader. The version number format differs by product line. DC versions typically show a year-month format (e.g., 22.001.20085), while classic versions show a year format (e.g., 20.005.30314).
    Affected if The version matches the affected range for that specific product variant.
  3. Verify PDF handling capability is active
    Confirm the software has not been configured to disable PDF opening or to use a different PDF handler. Check if the software can open and render PDF documents normally.
    Affected if PDF files can be opened by the installed Adobe software, meaning the parsing component that contains the vulnerability is functional.

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is installed with a version number matching any of the specified vulnerable ranges and the application can 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 version via Adobe's official channels. Until patched, instruct users to avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC (Continuous): 22.001.2012+, 20.005.3034+, 17.012.3023+ | Acrobat 2020 (Classic): 20.005.30334+ | Acrobat 2017 (Classic): 17.012.30253+

  1. 1. Determine the installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application, selecting Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat DC).
  2. 2. For Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC (Continuous track): If version is 22.001.20085 or earlier, upgrade to version 22.001.2012 or later.
  3. 3. For Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC (Continuous track): If version is 20.005.30314 or earlier, upgrade to version 20.005.3034 or later.
  4. 4. For Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC (Continuous track): If version is 17.012.30205 or earlier, upgrade to version 17.012.3023 or later.
  5. 5. For Classic track versions (Acrobat 2020): If version is 20.005.30311 or earlier, upgrade to 20.005.30334 or later.
  6. 6. For Classic track versions (Acrobat 2017): If version is 17.012.30205 or earlier, upgrade to 17.012.30253 or later.
  7. 7. Download the latest version from the official Adobe website at get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat depending on product.
  8. 8. Close all Adobe applications and install the update.
Caveat Standard minor version upgrades typically have no breaking changes; however, ensure compatibility with existing PDF workflows before deployment in enterprise environments.

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-28261 — 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-2022-28261 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