dbcve.org
Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-38449

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 an out-of-bounds read 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 an out-of-bounds read vulnerability where a specially crafted PDF file can cause the application to read memory outside allocated buffers. This can expose sensitive memory contents and potentially help bypass ASLR mitigation. Exploitation requires user interaction—the victim must open a malicious file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader to versions newer than 22.002.20212 or 20.005.30381. Implement defense-in-depth by disabling JavaScript in PDF readers and training users to avoid opening untrusted files.

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. Confirm Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed
    Windows: Check Start Menu for Acrobat/Reader shortcuts, or look in C:\Program Files\Adobe\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\. macOS: Check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Reader is present on the system
  2. Identify the exact product name and version
    Windows: Open the application, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader to display the version dialog showing the full version number. Alternatively, check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC\Version or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Reader\DC\Version. macOS: Right-click the application in Applications, select Get Info, and note the version displayed.
    Affected if The installed version is shown as a specific number that can be compared against the affected ranges
  3. Compare installed version against affected ranges
    If version starts with 22.x, ensure it is 22.003.20258 or higher. If version starts with 20.x, ensure it is 20.005.30407 or higher. If version starts with 15.x, ensure it is 22.003.20258 or higher (the 15.x channel maps to the 22.x release line). The affected ranges are: 15.008.20082 to 22.003.20257 inclusive, and 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30406 inclusive.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082 to 22.003.20257, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30406, or any 22.x version below 22.003.20258.

If Adobe Acrobat or Reader is installed and its version number is below 22.003.20258 (for 15.x/22.x releases) or below 20.005.30407 (for 20.x releases), the system is vulnerable and could be exploited when opening a specially crafted PDF file.

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 versions newer than 22.002.20212 or 20.005.30381. Implement defense-in-depth by disabling JavaScript in PDF readers and training users to avoid opening untrusted files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC/Reader DC: 22.003.20258 or later; Acrobat/Reader: 20.005.30407 or later

  1. 1. Determine the installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or Help > About Adobe Acrobat).
  2. 2. For Acrobat DC and Acrobat Reader DC users: Upgrade to version 22.003.20258 or later by downloading from the official Adobe website at https://get.adobe.com/reader/ or https://get.adobe.com/acrobat/.
  3. 3. For Acrobat (classic) and Acrobat Reader (classic) users: Upgrade to version 20.005.30407 or later from the official Adobe website.
  4. 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version again in Help > About.
  5. 5. Ensure automatic updates are enabled or periodically check for newer security updates.

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-38449 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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