dbcve.org
Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-38437

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-10-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.005.30407 / 22.003.20258 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 22.002.20212 (and earlier) and 20.005.30381 (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 confidence

Adobe Acrobat Reader contains a Use After Free vulnerability where memory is accessed after being freed, potentially exposing sensitive memory contents. An attacker could exploit this to leak memory addresses and bypass ASLR protection. Successful exploitation requires a user to open a malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 22.002.20212 or 20.005.30381. Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

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, < 22.003.20258
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, < 22.003.20258
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30407
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30407

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Adobe product
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Alternatively, check the version in the application properties or installed programs list in the operating system.
    Affected if The product name is Adobe Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, Adobe Acrobat, or Adobe Acrobat Reader
  2. Determine exact version number
    Note the full version number displayed in the About dialog. For Windows, you can also check the file properties of the executable (Acrobat.exe or AcroRd32.exe) located in the program installation folder.
    Affected if The version begins with 15.008.20082 or higher, or 20.001.30005 or higher
  3. Compare against affected version ranges
    Compare your installed version to these ranges: Acrobat Dc/Reader Dc: 15.008.20082 through 22.003.20257 (excluding 22.003.20258); Acrobat/Reader: 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30406 (excluding 20.005.30407).
    Affected if Your version falls within or below these ranges but is not the patched version (22.003.20258 or higher, or 20.005.30407 or higher)
  4. Assess exposure to malicious PDFs
    Determine whether users in your environment commonly open PDF files from external or untrusted sources, as exploitation requires a user to open a specially crafted malicious PDF file.
    Affected if Users routinely open PDF attachments from email, download PDFs from the internet, or otherwise handle PDF files from untrusted sources

You are affected if your installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader version is between 15.008.20082 and 22.003.20257 (for DC versions) or between 20.001.30005 and 20.005.30406 (for classic versions), and users open PDF files from potentially untrusted sources.

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 20.005.30407 / 22.003.20258 or later
Fixed in 20.005.3040722.003.20258
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than 22.002.20212 or 20.005.30381. Avoid opening PDF files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: upgrade to 22.003.20258 or later; Acrobat Classic/Reader Classic: upgrade to 20.005.30407 or later

  1. 1. Determine which Acrobat product edition is installed (Acrobat DC/Reader DC or Acrobat Classic/Reader Classic)
  2. 2. For Acrobat DC/Acrobat Reader DC: Navigate to Help > Check for Updates or manually download version 22.003.20258 or later from Adobe's official download page
  3. 3. For Acrobat Classic/Acrobat Reader Classic: Navigate to Help > Check for Updates or manually download version 20.005.30407 or later from Adobe's official download page
  4. 4. Close all Adobe applications before running the installer
  5. 5. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. 6. Restart Adobe Acrobat/Reader after the upgrade completes
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release (Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Caveat Standard Adobe update - minimal risk; ensure backup of custom settings if needed

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-38437 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-38437 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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