CVE-2022-34233
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 confidenceUse After Free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader allows disclosure of sensitive memory and could potentially bypass ASLR mitigation. Exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious PDF file.
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.
-
Identify installed Adobe Acrobat productOpen Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Alternatively, on Windows check the executable properties (right-click on AcroRd32.exe or AcroRd64.exe in the program files folder, select Properties, view Details tab). On macOS, Control-click the application and select Get Info.Affected if The product name is Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, Adobe Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader, or Adobe Acrobat.
-
Check the exact version numberNote the full version number displayed in the About dialog or in the executable's Details tab. Look for the 5-digit version segment (for example: 22.001.20142).Affected if A version number is displayed.
-
Compare version against affected rangesMatch your installed version to the following vulnerable ranges: 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20142 (Acrobat Dc/Reader Dc); 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30334 or 20.005.30331 (Acrobat/Reader 20.x); 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30229 or 17.012.30227 (Acrobat/Reader 17.x).Affected if Your installed version falls within any of these ranges inclusive.
-
Confirm the exploitation preconditionThis vulnerability is triggered only when a user opens a malicious PDF file. No other configuration or module needs to be enabled for the vulnerability to exist in the software.Affected if The software is installed and a user opens a specially crafted PDF file.
You are affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is installed with a version between 15.008.20082 and 22.001.20142 (Dc products) or within the 17.x and 20.x version ranges listed, and a user could potentially open untrusted PDF files.
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. Avoid opening untrusted PDF files from unknown sources.
Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 22.001.20143+, 20.005.30335+, or 17.012.30230+ (depending on your version branch)
- 1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat)
- 2. Determine which version branch you are using (17.x, 20.x, or 22.x)
- 3. For version 22.x branch: Upgrade to version 22.001.20143 or later
- 4. For version 20.x branch: Upgrade to version 20.005.30335 or later
- 5. For version 17.x branch: Upgrade to version 17.012.30230 or later
- 6. Download the latest version from the official Adobe website at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ (for Reader) or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/ (for Acrobat)
- 7. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
- 8. Restart Adobe Acrobat/Reader after the upgrade completes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-34233 — 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-2022-34233 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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