CVE-2022-38436
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 Illustrator versions 26.4 (and earlier) and 25.4.7 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing a crafted file, which could result in a read past the end of an allocated memory structure. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to execute code 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 confidenceAdobe Illustrator versions 26.4 and earlier and 25.4.7 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing crafted files. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of allocated memory structures, which can be leveraged by attackers for code execution in the current user's context. Exploitation requires user interaction where a victim must open a malicious 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<= 25.4.7>= 26.0, <= 26.4CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if Adobe Illustrator is installedOn Windows, look for the application in Program Files\Adobe or check registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Illustrator.Affected if Adobe Illustrator is present on the system
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Determine the installed version numberOpen Adobe Illustrator and go to Help > About Adobe Illustrator to view the exact version. Alternatively, on Windows right-click Ai.exe in the installation folder and select Properties > Details to see the File Version.Affected if A version number is displayed for Adobe Illustrator
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Compare version against affected rangesCompare your installed version to the affected ranges: version 26.0 through 26.4, or version 25.x through 25.4.7. Note that versions 25.4.8 and above, and versions above 26.4 are not listed as affected.Affected if The installed version falls within 26.0-26.4 or 25.0-25.4.7 (the vulnerable ranges)
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Assess user exposure to malicious filesDetermine whether users in the environment commonly open files from untrusted or unknown sources, as exploitation requires a victim to open a specially crafted malicious file.Affected if Users routinely open files from untrusted sources without validation
The environment is affected if Adobe Illustrator is installed with a version between 26.0 and 26.4 or between 25.0 and 25.4.7, and users may open files from untrusted sources.
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 · scopedOrganizations should ensure Adobe Illustrator installations are updated to patched versions once released, and users should be trained to avoid opening files from untrusted sources.
Upgrade to Adobe Illustrator version 26.5 or later (or 25.4.8 or later for the 25.x branch)
- 1. Close Adobe Illustrator if it is currently running
- 2. Verify your current Adobe Illustrator version by going to Help > About Adobe Illustrator
- 3. Launch Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to adobe.com
- 4. Search for Adobe Illustrator in the Creative Cloud catalog
- 5. Update to the latest available version (version 26.5 or later for the 26.x release line, or version 25.4.8 or later for the 25.x release line)
- 6. Restart Adobe Illustrator after the update completes
- 7. Verify the updated version by checking Help > About Adobe Illustrator
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
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-38436 — 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-2022-38436 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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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