CVE-2022-34237
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 confidenceThis is a Use After Free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader that allows an attacker to read sensitive memory contents. The vulnerability can be leveraged to bypass ASLR memory protection as part of an exploit chain. Exploitation requires a victim to open a specially crafted 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.
-
Confirm Adobe Acrobat or Reader installationOn Windows, check for Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader in Program Files or Program Files (x86). On Mac, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader. Alternatively, search for acrobat.exe, AcroRd32.exe, or AdobeCollabSync.exe processes running on the system.Affected if Any of these products are installed on the system
-
Determine installed product versionOpen the application, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader or About Adobe Acrobat. Alternatively, on Windows check the version property of the executable file (AcroRd32.exe for Reader, acrobat.exe for Acrobat) in Program Files. On Mac, right-click the app in Applications and select Get Info to view the version.Affected if The product version cannot be determined or the version displayed matches any of the affected version ranges
-
Compare version against affected rangesCheck if the installed version falls within any of these vulnerable 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. Ensure you are comparing the full numeric version (for example, 22.001.20093 would be affected while 22.001.20143 would not).Affected if The 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 listed
A user is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed and the installed version falls within any of the listed vulnerable version ranges.
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. Additionally, consider restricting PDF handling from untrusted sources and ensuring sandboxing is enabled to limit exploitation impact.
Adobe Acrobat/Reader 22.002.xxxx (or later for 22.x branch), 20.006.xxxx (or later for 20.x branch), or 17.013.xxxx (or later for 17.x branch)
- 1. Verify current Adobe Acrobat or Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat
- 2. Download the latest version from the official Adobe website or your organization's software distribution channel
- 3. Close all instances of Adobe Acrobat/Reader
- 4. Run the installer for the new version
- 5. Follow the on-screen installation prompts
- 6. Restart the application after installation completes
- 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release (22.002.xxxx for version 22.x, 20.006.xxxx for version 20.x, or 17.013.xxxx for version 17.x)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-34237 — 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-2022-34237 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