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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-34228

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-07-15
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 an Access of Uninitialized Pointer 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 an access of uninitialized pointer vulnerability that can be triggered when a user opens a specially crafted malicious PDF file. The vulnerability allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, requiring only that the victim interact with the malicious file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to the latest version (22.002.20220 or later for 22.x, 20.005.30417 or later for 20.x, 17.012.30293 or later for 17.x). Apply patches via Adobe's official channels and ensure users do not open untrusted PDF files.

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
    Check for Adobe Acrobat or Reader installation by looking in Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\ or by searching for AcroRd32.exe (Reader) or AcroTray.exe (Acrobat) in Program Files
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is not found on the system, the system is not affected
  2. Determine installed Adobe product version
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Acrobat, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or Acrobat), or right-click the executable (AcroRd32.exe or AcroTray.exe) and select Properties to view the Version field
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or the product is a perpetual license version older than the ranges listed
  3. Compare version against affected 22.x range
    If the installed version starts with 22.x (such as 22.001.20xxx), verify if it falls between 15.008.20082 and 22.001.20142 inclusive
    Affected if Version is 22.001.20142 or lower (for 22.x track)
  4. Compare version against affected 20.x range
    If the installed version starts with 20.x, verify if it falls between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30334, or between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30331 inclusive
    Affected if Version is between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30334 (Classic track) or between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30331 (Continuous track)
  5. Compare version against affected 17.x range
    If the installed version starts with 17.x, verify if it falls between 17.011.30059 and 17.012.30229, or between 17.011.30059 and 17.012.30227 inclusive
    Affected if Version is between 17.011.30059 and 17.012.30229 (Classic track) or between 17.011.30059 and 17.012.30227 (Continuous track)

If Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed AND its version falls within any of the affected ranges (15.008.20082 to 22.001.20142 for DC products, or the 17.x and 20.x classic/continuous ranges listed), the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

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 (22.002.20220 or later for 22.x, 20.005.30417 or later for 20.x, 17.012.30293 or later for 17.x). Apply patches via Adobe's official channels and ensure users do not open untrusted PDF files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat version 22.001.20143 or later (for 2022 track), 20.005.30335 or later (for 2020 track), or 17.012.30230 or later (for 2017 track). Adobe recommends always updating to the latest version available from get.adobe.com/reader or adobe.com.

  1. 1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat/Reader version by navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat).
  2. 2. Close all Adobe applications before updating.
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/reader) or Adobe Acrobat from the Adobe website.
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade.
  5. 5. Alternatively, use the built-in update feature: Go to Help > Check for Updates and follow the prompts.
  6. 6. After installation, verify the version has updated to a version newer than the affected thresholds (22.001.20142, 20.005.30334, or 17.012.30229 depending on your product line).
Caveat Standard upgrade risk is minimal; some older plugins or extensions may need updates for compatibility with newer versions.

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2022-34228 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data