CVE-2022-34232
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 lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. 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 (UAF) vulnerability where memory is accessed after being freed, potentially exposing sensitive memory contents. An attacker could exploit this by crafting a malicious PDF file that, when opened by a victim, allows memory disclosure and could facilitate bypassing ASLR as a secondary impact.
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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Verify Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installedOpen Windows Settings > Apps & features or use command 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' to list installed software containing 'Adobe Acrobat' or 'Adobe Reader'Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is present on the system
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Determine installed version of Adobe Acrobat/ReaderRight-click the Adobe application shortcut, select Properties, and check the version in the Details tab, or open Adobe Acrobat/Reader and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader to view the exact version numberAffected if Version number falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20142, 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30334, 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30331, 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30229, or 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30227
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Confirm the specific product editionCheck whether the installed product is Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat (classic), or Adobe Acrobat Reader (classic) using the application name or Help > About dialogAffected if Product edition matches any of the affected product lines listed in the CVE (Acrobat DC, Acrobat Reader DC, Acrobat, or Acrobat Reader)
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Identify if the product is the 32-bit or 64-bit variantCheck the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\) for the presence of AcroRd32.exe (32-bit Reader) or AcroRd64.exe (64-bit Reader), or compare with Adobe's documentation for your specific versionAffected if Both 32-bit and 64-bit variants of affected versions are vulnerable
The system is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader is installed with a version number matching any of the specified vulnerable ranges from 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20142, or the 20.x and 17.x version ranges listed in the CVE.
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 (depending on the product line). Additionally, warn users against opening PDF files from untrusted sources as exploitation requires user interaction.
Adobe Acrobat Reader DC 22.001.20143 or later (or the latest available version from get.adobe.com/reader)
- Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat)
- Note the exact version number displayed in the About window
- Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from the official Adobe website at get.adobe.com/reader or for Adobe Acrobat from the Adobe website
- Run the downloaded installer and follow the on-screen prompts to install the update
- Alternatively, open Acrobat/Acrobat Reader and go to Help > Check for Updates to automatically download and install the latest version
- Verify the update was successful by checking the version number again in Help > About
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-34232 — 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-2022-34232 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