CVE-2022-28838
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 Acrobat Pro DC version 22.001.2011x (and earlier), 20.005.3033x (and earlier) and 17.012.3022x (and earlier) are affected by a use-after-free vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. 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 confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC allows arbitrary code execution when a victim opens a maliciously crafted PDF file. The vulnerability affects specific older versions across three release tracks (22.x, 20.x, and 17.x).
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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Identify installed Adobe Acrobat productOpen Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader, then navigate to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or About Adobe Acrobat Reader) to see the exact product name and version number. On Windows, you can also check Add/Remove Programs or the application's Properties. On macOS, right-click the application in Applications folder and select Get Info.Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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Obtain exact version numberFrom the About dialog or system information, record the full version string (for example: 21.001.20093 or 20.005.30334). Ensure you capture all three digit groups as shown.Affected if The installed version cannot be determined or does not display in the format used by Adobe.
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Compare against vulnerable version rangesCross-reference your installed version against these affected ranges: Acrobat DC/Reader DC (15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085); Acrobat/Reader 17.x (17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205); Acrobat/Reader 20.x (20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314 or 20.005.30311). Note that the exact upper bound may vary slightly between release tracks.Affected if The installed version falls within or overlaps any of these ranges.
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Confirm PDF handling is in useThe vulnerability triggers when processing a maliciously crafted PDF file. No special feature or configuration needs to be enabled beyond the normal PDF opening functionality that is the core purpose of the application.Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed and used to open PDF documents, regardless of whether a malicious file has been encountered.
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed and the version number falls within any of the listed vulnerable ranges (15.008.20082-22.001.20085 for DC products, or 17.x/20.x ranges for classic products).
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 · scopedUpdate Adobe Acrobat Pro DC to the latest patched version to remediate this vulnerability.
Adobe Acrobat DC version 22.001.20112 or later (Continuous track), or the latest patched version of Classic tracks (17.012.30220 or later)
- 1. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader on your system
- 2. Navigate to the official Adobe support page at helpx.adobe.com to download the latest version
- 3. Download the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for your platform
- 4. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
- 5. After installation, verify the version by opening Adobe Acrobat/Reader and checking Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
- 6. Ensure the installed version is greater than 22.001.2011x (for Continuous track) or the latest patched Classic track version as listed in Adobe's security bulletin
- 7. Re-open any previously closed documents or restart your system if prompted
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
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-28838 — 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-2022-28838 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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