CVE-2022-28264
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 confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC that occurs when parsing crafted PDF files. The flaw allows reading past the end of allocated memory structures, which could potentially be leveraged to bypass ASLR as an information disclosure primitive. Exploitation requires user interaction—the victim must open a malicious PDF 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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Check installed Adobe Acrobat version on WindowsOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, locate Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, and note the version number in the Version column. Alternatively, right-click the Acrobat executable (e.g., AcroRd32.exe in the installation folder) and view Properties > Details to see the Product Version.Affected if The version falls within 15.008.20082 to 22.001.20085 for DC products, or 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30205, 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30314, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30311 for Acrobat/Reader products.
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Verify PDF parsing component is presentConfirm the Adobe Acrobat or Reader application is installed with its core PDF parsing engine. Check that the installation directory contains AcroRd32.exe (Reader) or AcroDist.exe or Acrobat.exe (Pro), which handle PDF file parsing.Affected if The PDF parsing executable exists and the application can open PDF files, which enables the vulnerable code path.
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Confirm user interaction vectorIdentify whether the system has users who routinely open PDF files from external or untrusted sources. Check email client rules, downloaded files folder, or user workflow documentation for PDF handling practices.Affected if Users have the ability to open PDF files received via email, downloads, or other external sources, which would trigger the vulnerable parsing code when a crafted PDF is opened.
A system is affected if it runs a version of Adobe Acrobat DC, Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader within the listed version ranges and users can open PDF files, allowing the out-of-bounds read to trigger when parsing a malicious PDF.
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 · scopedApply the vendor security updates from Adobe for the affected versions (22.001.2011x, 20.005.3033x, 17.012.3022x and earlier). Additionally, educate users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files and deploy network-level controls to block malicious file downloads where possible.
Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 22.001.20112+ | Acrobat 2020: 20.005.30334+ | Acrobat 2017: 17.012.30223+
- 1. Identify the installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
- 2. For Adobe Acrobat DC/Acrobat Reader DC users: Upgrade to version 22.001.20112 or later
- 3. For Adobe Acrobat 2020/Acrobat Reader 2020 users: Upgrade to version 20.005.30334 or later
- 4. For Adobe Acrobat 2017/Acrobat Reader 2017 users: Upgrade to version 17.012.30223 or later
- 5. Download the appropriate update from the official Adobe security bulletin at helpx.adobe.com or use the built-in Help > Check for Updates feature
- 6. Install the update and restart the application
- 7. Verify the version has been updated by checking Help > About again
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-28264 — 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-2022-28264 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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- 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