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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-44513

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 22.001.20085 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Acrobat Reader DC version 22.001.20085 (and earlier), 20.005.3031x (and earlier) and 17.012.30205 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution 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 confidence

This is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC that allows arbitrary code execution through a maliciously crafted PDF file. The victim must open the malicious file for exploitation to occur, and the code executes in the context of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest version from Adobe's official channels. Additionally, enforce strict policies against opening untrusted or unexpected PDF attachments.

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, <= 22.001.20085
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 15.008.20082, <= 22.001.20085
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30205>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30314>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30311
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30059, <= 17.012.30205>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30314>= 20.001.30005, <= 20.005.30311

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed Adobe product
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC, go to Help menu, and select 'About Adobe Acrobat Reader DC' or 'About Adobe Acrobat DC' to see the exact product name and version number. Alternatively, on Windows check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\{version}\InstallPath, or on macOS right-click the application in Applications and select Get Info.
    Affected if The installed product is Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC within the classic 15.x-22.x versioning scheme, or Adobe Acrobat/Reader in the 17.x or 20.x versioning scheme.
  2. Record the full version number
    Note the complete version string displayed in the About dialog. For Acrobat Reader DC this typically appears as something like 22.001.20085. For classic Acrobat it appears as 17.012.30205 or 20.005.30314.
    Affected if A version number is displayed that falls within any of the affected ranges.
  3. Compare version against Acrobat DC/Reader DC ranges
    Check if the version starts with 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085. If the version begins with 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, or 22, verify the exact four-digit build number is between 20082 and 20085 for version 15.x, or within the 22.001.20085 upper bound for later versions.
    Affected if The installed version is 15.008.20082 or higher up to and including 22.001.20085.
  4. Compare version against classic Acrobat ranges
    If using the classic 17.x or 20.x versioning, check if the version is 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205, OR 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314, OR 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30311 (different build numbers for Reader vs Acrobat).
    Affected if The installed version is 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314 (Reader), or 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30311 (Acrobat).

You are affected if your installed Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC version falls within any of the listed ranges AND you open a maliciously crafted PDF file, since exploitation requires user interaction to open the 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 a release after 22.001.20085
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest version from Adobe's official channels. Additionally, enforce strict policies against opening untrusted or unexpected PDF attachments.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest available version (newer than 22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, or 17.012.30205)

  1. Navigate to the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat) to download the latest version
  2. Download the latest Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader DC application
  3. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  4. Restart your computer if prompted
  5. Verify the installed version by opening Adobe Acrobat/Reader and checking Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
Caveat Adobe security updates typically include bug fixes and stability improvements with minimal risk of functionality changes

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

Fix this in Acrobat Dc Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2022-44513 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