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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-44515

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 17.012.30227 / 17.012.30229 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
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 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 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 DC contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing specially crafted PDF files. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of an allocated memory structure, which could be leveraged by an attacker to bypass ASLR mitigation. Exploitation requires user interaction—specifically, the victim must open a malicious PDF file.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied security update by upgrading Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to a version newer than the affected releases (22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, or 17.012.30205). Users should avoid opening untrusted PDF files until the update is applied.

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
AcrobatApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30059, < 17.012.30229>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30334>= 17.011.30059, < 17.012.30227>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30331
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:>= 22.001.20085, < 22.001.20117>= 22.001.20085, < 22.001.20112
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 17.011.30059, < 17.012.30229>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30334>= 17.011.30059, < 17.012.30227>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30331
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:>= 22.001.20085, < 22.001.20117>= 22.001.20085, < 22.001.20112

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. Go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader (or About Adobe Acrobat). Note the exact version number displayed (e.g., 22.001.20085).
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader (any version).
  2. Determine the product track and platform
    Check if the product name includes 'Dc' (continuous track, Windows) or is the Classic track. In the Help > About dialog, look for 'Acrobat' or 'Acrobat Reader' and note the track indicator if present.
    Affected if The product is Adobe Acrobat Dc or Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc (Windows continuous track) - version ranges 22.001.20085 to 22.001.20117 or 22.001.20112 apply. Classic track versions use different ranges.
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    For Classic track (non-Dc): versions 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30228 (or 17.012.30226), and 20.001.30002 through 20.005.30333 (or 20.005.30330) are affected. For Continuous track (Dc): versions 22.001.20085 through 22.001.20116 (or 22.001.20111) are affected. Compare your installed version number to these ranges.
    Affected if Installed version falls within any of the affected version ranges: Classic: 17.011.30059 - 17.012.30228, 20.001.30002 - 20.005.30333, or Continuous (Dc): 22.001.20085 - 22.001.20116.
  4. Confirm vulnerability applicability
    This is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability triggered when parsing specially crafted PDF files. The vulnerability requires user interaction (opening a malicious PDF). If the product is installed and in an affected version range, the environment can be affected if a user opens an untrusted PDF file.
    Affected if The product version is within affected ranges AND users in the environment can open PDF files (this is the default behavior).

If Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC is installed and the version falls within 17.011.30059-17.012.30228, 20.001.30002-20.005.30333, or 22.001.20085-22.001.20116, the environment is potentially affected by this out-of-bounds read vulnerability when users open untrusted PDF files.

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 17.012.30227 / 17.012.30229 / 20.005.30331 or later
Fixed in 17.012.3022717.012.3022920.005.30331
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-supplied security update by upgrading Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to a version newer than the affected releases (22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, or 17.012.30205). Users should avoid opening untrusted PDF files until the update is applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Acrobat/Acrobat Reader DC version 22.001.20117 or later (or version 20.005.30334/20.005.30331 or later for 20.x line, or 17.012.30229/17.012.30227 or later for 17.x line)

  1. 1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader on your system
  2. 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or equivalent menu depending on your version)
  3. 3. Allow the application to check for available updates
  4. 4. If updates are available, download and install the latest version
  5. 5. Alternatively, manually download the latest Acrobat DC/Reader DC installer from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/reader or adobe.com/acrobat)
  6. 6. Ensure you close all Adobe applications before installing the update
  7. 7. After installation, verify the version by going to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/Reader
Caveat Standard Adobe update; review release notes for any changes to functionality or system requirements

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

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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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-2022-44515 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