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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-34224

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 22.001.20142 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.001.20142 (and earlier), 20.005.30334 (and earlier) and 17.012.30229 (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 confidence

Adobe Acrobat Reader contains a Use After Free vulnerability in versions 22.001.20142 and earlier, 20.005.30334 and earlier, and 17.012.30229 and earlier. An attacker can exploit this by crafting a malicious PDF file that, when opened by a victim, triggers the use-after-free condition leading to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than the affected versions listed (22.001.20142, 20.005.30334, 17.012.30229). Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unverified 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, <= 22.001.20142
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.001.20142
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30334>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30331>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30229>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30227
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30334>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30331>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30229>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30227

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Adobe product
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number will be displayed in the dialog box.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, Adobe Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader, or Adobe Acrobat.
  2. Record the full version number
    Note the complete version string shown in the About dialog (for example: 22.001.20142, 20.005.30334, or 17.012.30229).
    Affected if A version number is displayed.
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Check if your version falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082 to 22.001.20142; 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30334; 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30331; 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30229; 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30227.
    Affected if Your installed version is within any of these ranges.
  4. Confirm PDF handling is enabled
    Verify Adobe Acrobat Reader is set as the default PDF handler or can open PDF files. Open any PDF file to confirm the application processes them.
    Affected if PDF files can be opened in the installed Adobe product.
  5. Check for user interaction with untrusted PDFs
    Determine whether the system user opens PDF files from email attachments, web downloads, or other untrusted sources.
    Affected if Users routinely open PDF files from unverified or external sources using the affected Adobe product.

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is installed with a version number between 15.008.20082 and 22.001.20142 (for DC products) or within the older version ranges specified, and users open PDF files with it.

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 22.001.20142
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than the affected versions listed (22.001.20142, 20.005.30334, 17.012.30229). Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files from unverified sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat and Reader versions 22.001.20143+, 20.005.30335+, or 17.012.30230+ (or the latest current version from adobe.com)

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader on your system
  2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or use the built-in update mechanism)
  3. Alternatively, download the latest version from the official Adobe website: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
  4. Ensure you update to a version newer than 22.001.20142, 20.005.30334, or 17.012.30229 as listed in the advisory
  5. Verify the installed version by going to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat)
Caveat Standard user-level upgrade; ensure you close all PDF documents before updating; enterprise deployments may want to test in controlled environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,620
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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-2022-34224 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