CVE-2022-28262
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 · uneditedAcrobat 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 confidenceAdobe Acrobat Reader DC contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing crafted PDF files. The flaw allows reading past the end of allocated memory structures, potentially enabling attackers to bypass ASLR mitigations. Exploitation requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
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>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.001.20085>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.001.20085>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30205>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30314>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30311>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30205>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30314>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30311CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader versionOpen Adobe Acrobat/Reader, then navigate to Help > About (or on Windows, check the version via the executable or registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version or similar path depending on installation)Affected if The version number falls within 15.008.20082 to 22.001.20085 (for DC), or 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30205 (for version 17), or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30314/20.005.30311 (for version 20)
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Confirm the product handles PDF filesVerify the installed product is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (not a different PDF viewer) and that PDF handling functionality is enabledAffected if The product is Adobe Acrobat or Reader and the PDF parsing feature is in use, which is the default state for these applications when opening any PDF file
A user is affected if they have Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader installed with a version number matching any of the listed vulnerable ranges and they open untrusted PDF files.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedUsers should update Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched versions. Organizations should deploy patches via enterprise patch management tools and consider implementing email/web filtering to block untrusted PDF files.
Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader DC Continuous: 22.001.2012 or later; Classic 2020: 20.005.30334 or later; Classic 2017: 17.012.30205 or later. For older 2015 and 2013 tracks, Adobe recommends upgrading to a supported version.
- 1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader.
- 2. Determine which track (Continuous or Classic) and version year is installed based on the version number.
- 3. For Continuous track users: Upgrade to version 22.001.2012 or later for 2022 track, or 20.005.3034 or later for 2020 track.
- 4. For Classic track users: Upgrade to version 17.012.30205 or later for 2017 classic, 20.005.30314 or later for 2020 classic.
- 5. Download the appropriate updated version from the official Adobe website: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat).
- 6. Close all running instances of Adobe Acrobat or Reader before installing the update.
- 7. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
- 8. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About to confirm the vulnerability is patched.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-28262 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-28262 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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