CVE-2022-34225
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 · uneditedAdobe 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 confidenceAdobe Acrobat Reader contains a Use After Free vulnerability where memory is accessed after it has been freed, potentially allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code. The vulnerability is triggered when a victim opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file, requiring user interaction for exploitation.
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, <= 22.001.20142>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.001.20142>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30334>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30331>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30229>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30227>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30334>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30331>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30229>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30227CVSS 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 or Reader productOpen Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Alternatively, check Programs and Features in Control Panel or the application properties for the version string.Affected if The product name matches Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, or any listed variant.
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Determine the exact installed version numberNote the full version number displayed in the About dialog. Look for a version such as 22.001.20142, 20.005.30334, 17.012.30229, 15.008.20082, or similar.Affected if The installed version is visible and matches the product ranges provided.
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Compare your version against the affected rangesCheck if your version falls within: 15.008.20082 to 22.001.20142 for DC versions; 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30334 or 20.005.30331 for version 20.x; 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30229 or 17.012.30227 for version 17.x.Affected if Your installed version number is greater than or equal to the lower bound AND less than or equal to the upper bound of any affected range.
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Confirm whether the application processes PDF files from external or untrusted sourcesVerify if the system or user profile is used to open PDF documents received via email, downloaded from the internet, or from other untrusted sources. This is the exploitation trigger.Affected if Users routinely open PDF files from untrusted sources using the affected Adobe application.
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version number within any of the listed affected ranges and users open PDF files from external sources.
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 Reader to a version newer than 22.001.20142, 20.005.30334, or 17.012.30229 respectively, or apply the latest security patches from Adobe.
Adobe Acrobat DC/Reader 22.001.20193 or later; 20.005.30345 or later; 17.012.30253 or later (depending on which major version line is in use)
- 1. Determine the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application, selecting 'Help' > 'About Adobe Acrobat Reader' (or About Adobe Acrobat)
- 2. For version 22.x users: Upgrade to version 22.001.20193 or later
- 3. For version 20.x users: Upgrade to version 20.005.30345 or later
- 4. For version 17.x users: Upgrade to version 17.012.30253 or later
- 5. Download the updated version from the official Adobe website at get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat
- 6. Close all Adobe applications before running the installer
- 7. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
- 8. After installation, verify the new version by checking Help > About
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-34225 — 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-2022-34225 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