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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28265

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, potentially enabling an attacker to leak memory contents and bypass ASLR mitigations. Successful exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to a version newer than 22.001.2011x, 20.005.3033x, or 17.012.3022x respectively. Additionally, educate users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources as a defense-in-depth measure.

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. Check installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version
    Open Adobe Acrobat/Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number will be displayed in the dialog box. Alternatively, you can check Add/Remove Programs (Windows) or Applications folder (Mac) for the installed version.
    Affected if The version falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082 to 22.001.20085, 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30205, 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30314, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30311.
  2. Identify the product edition and track
    Determine if you have Acrobat Standard, Acrobat Pro, or Acrobat Reader. Also identify the track (Continuous vs. Classic) by checking the version number format - Continuous versions typically have 5 digits in the first segment (e.g., 22.001.20085), while Classic versions have 3 digits (e.g., 17.012.30205).
    Affected if Both Acrobat and Acrobat Reader versions in the Continuous and Classic tracks within the stated ranges are affected.
  3. Confirm PDF functionality is enabled
    Verify that the application can open and parse PDF files. This is the default state for Acrobat Reader and Acrobat installations. The vulnerability triggers when a crafted PDF file is opened.
    Affected if The application can open PDF files, which is the default configuration for both Reader and full Acrobat installations.

You are affected if your installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version falls within the affected version ranges (15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085 for Continuous track, or 17.x and 20.x Classic versions within the stated 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 a version newer than 22.001.2011x, 20.005.3033x, or 17.012.3022x respectively. Additionally, educate users to avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources as a defense-in-depth measure.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader DC version 22.001.2012 or later; version 20.005.3034 or later; version 17.012.3023 or later

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader
  2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates or use the built-in update mechanism
  3. Allow Adobe to identify and install the latest security update, or manually download the latest version from https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
  4. Restart the application after the update completes
  5. Verify the updated version by going to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
Caveat Standard security update with no expected breaking changes; minor version increment

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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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-2022-28265 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