CVE-2022-44516
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 · uneditedAcrobat 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 confidenceThis is an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC that occurs when parsing a maliciously crafted PDF file. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of an allocated memory structure, which could potentially be leveraged to bypass ASLR mitigations. Exploitation requires user interaction where a victim must open a specially crafted PDF 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>= 17.011.30059, < 17.012.30229>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30334>= 17.011.30059, < 17.012.30227>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30331>= 22.001.20085, < 22.001.20117>= 22.001.20085, < 22.001.20112>= 17.011.30059, < 17.012.30229>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30334>= 17.011.30059, < 17.012.30227>= 20.001.30002, < 20.005.30331>= 22.001.20085, < 22.001.20117>= 22.001.20085, < 22.001.20112CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Adobe Acrobat or Reader productCheck Program Files for Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader installation folders, or use Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for Adobe entriesAffected if Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader is installed on the system
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Determine installed version numberRight-click the Adobe Acrobat/Reader executable, select Properties, then view the Details tab for Version or Product version; alternatively, launch the application and go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat/ReaderAffected if The displayed version falls within any of the affected ranges: 17.011.30059 through 17.012.302xx, 20.001.30002 through 20.005.303xx, or 22.001.20085 through 22.001.201xx
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Confirm vulnerability trigger conditionThis vulnerability is triggered specifically when parsing a maliciously crafted PDF file. Check if the system handles untrusted PDF attachments from external sources or email.Affected if Users on the system open PDF files from untrusted or unknown sources, as exploitation requires opening a specially crafted PDF file
The system is affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader is installed with a version matching any of the affected ranges (17.011.30059 to 17.012.302xx, 20.001.30002 to 20.005.303xx, or 22.001.20085 to 22.001.201xx) and users may open untrusted PDF files.
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 · scoped17.012.3022717.012.3022920.005.30331
Apply the vendor security patches from Adobe for the affected versions (22.001.20085 and earlier, 20.005.3031x and earlier, 17.012.30205 and earlier). Users should avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF attachments, and organizations should implement email gateway controls to block suspicious PDF files.
Adobe Acrobat/Reader 17.012.30229 or later (Classic track), 20.005.30334 or later (Continuous track), or 22.001.20117 or later (Reader DC)
- 1. Identify the currently installed Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version from the Help > About menu
- 2. Based on your current version, download the corresponding fixed release from the official Adobe security bulletin at helpx.adobe.com
- 3. Close all running instances of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
- 4. Run the downloaded installer to apply the security update
- 5. After installation, verify the version matches or exceeds the fixed release (17.012.30229/30227, 20.005.30334/30331, or 22.001.20117/20112)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-44516 — 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-2022-44516 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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- 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
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