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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-34227

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 · moderate confidence

A Use After Free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader allows arbitrary code execution when a victim opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file. The vulnerability occurs due to improper memory management where the application attempts to access memory that has already been freed, enabling attackers to corrupt memory and execute arbitrary code in the current user's context.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to the latest version beyond 22.001.20142, 20.005.30334, and 17.012.30229. Avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown or 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. Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or on macOS check /Applications folder for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is present on the system
  2. Determine the exact version number
    In Acrobat/Reader: Go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). The version number appears in the format YY.x.x.xxxx (e.g., 22.001.20142)
    Affected if Version falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082-22.001.20142, 20.001.30005-20.005.30334, 20.001.30005-20.005.30331, 17.011.30059-17.012.30229, or 17.011.30059-17.012.30227
  3. Confirm PDF file handling is enabled
    Verify the application can open PDF files by checking that PDF file associations are registered and the application is set as default PDF handler
    Affected if PDF files can be opened in the installed version, making the use-after-free triggerable via malicious PDF

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed with a version between the ranges listed above 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 22.001.20142
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to the latest version beyond 22.001.20142, 20.005.30334, and 17.012.30229. Avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown or unverified sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Latest available version of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (22.x series) or Adobe Acrobat DC (22.x series) - versions released after 22.001.20142, 20.005.30335, and 17.012.30230 contain the fix

  1. 1. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Adobe download page at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Acrobat Reader or Acrobat DC
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
  5. 5. Restart your computer if prompted
  6. 6. Verify the installed version by opening Acrobat/Reader and checking Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat)
Caveat Standard upgrade - minimal risk; ensure compatibility with any third-party PDF plugins or workflows

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
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2022-34227 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