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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28266

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 an allocated memory structure, which could enable an attacker to leak memory contents and potentially bypass ASLR mitigation. Successful exploitation requires user interaction to open a malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest patched version beyond 22.001.2011x, 20.005.3033x, or 17.012.3022x. Additionally, educate 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. Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Open Windows Settings > Apps & Features or use Control Panel > Programs and Features. Look for Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader in the installed programs list.
    Affected if The application is not present in the installed programs list, indicating the product is not installed.
  2. Obtain the installed version number
    Open the Adobe application, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (or About Adobe Acrobat DC). The version number will be displayed in the format such as 22.001.20085 or 20.005.30314.
    Affected if The version displayed cannot be read or the product does not have an About dialog.
  3. Compare against affected version ranges for Acrobat/Reader DC
    Match your version against these ranges: 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085 (inclusive). Any version within this range is affected.
    Affected if Your installed version number falls within or overlaps the range 15.008.20082 to 22.001.20085.
  4. Compare against affected version ranges for Acrobat/Reader (Classic)
    If using the Classic version, match against: 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30205 OR 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30314 (or 20.005.30311). Any version within these ranges is affected.
    Affected if Your installed version number falls within the ranges 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30205, 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30314, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30311.
  5. Confirm the parsing component is in use
    The vulnerability triggers when parsing crafted PDF files. If the application can open and render PDF documents, the parsing component is active.
    Affected if The application can open PDF files, meaning the vulnerable parsing functionality is present and accessible.

A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed and the installed version falls within any of the specified vulnerable ranges (15.008.20082-22.001.20085, 17.011.30059-17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005-20.005.30314/20.005.30311) and the application can be used 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 beyond 22.001.2011x, 20.005.3033x, or 17.012.3022x. Additionally, educate users to avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 22.001.2012+ | Classic 2020: 20.005.3034+ | Classic 2017: 17.012.3023+

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version from the Help > About menu
  2. 2. For Acrobat Reader DC and Acrobat DC (Continuous track): Upgrade to version 22.001.2012 or later
  3. 3. For Acrobat and Acrobat Reader (Classic 2020 track): Upgrade to version 20.005.3034 or later
  4. 4. For Acrobat and Acrobat Reader (Classic 2017 track): Upgrade to version 17.012.3023 or later
  5. 5. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Adobe website at helpx.adobe.com
  6. 6. Close all Adobe applications before installing the update
  7. 7. Install the update and restart the application
  8. 8. Verify the new version by checking Help > About to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Standard Adobe update; no significant breaking changes expected for typical users

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
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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-2022-28266 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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