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Acrobat DcApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-44520

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 a use-after-free 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

Use-after-free vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC versions 22.001.20085 and earlier, 20.005.3031x and earlier, and 17.012.30205 and earlier allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious PDF file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to the latest version beyond the affected releases (22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, 17.012.30205) to remediate the use-after-free vulnerability.

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. Verify Adobe Acrobat installation
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat DC\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat Reader DC\)
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader DC is installed
  2. Determine installed version
    In Adobe Acrobat/Reader, go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat (or About Adobe Reader). Alternatively, right-click the executable in the installation folder and select Properties > Details to view the File Version
    Affected if Version falls within any of these ranges: 15.008.20082 through 22.001.20085, 17.011.30059 through 17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005 through 20.005.30314 (or 20.005.30311 depending on build)
  3. Confirm vulnerability trigger condition
    The vulnerability requires a user to open a maliciously crafted PDF file. No special feature or service need be enabled for the flaw to apply.
    Affected if The affected version is installed AND a user opens a specially crafted PDF file

You are affected if Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader DC is installed with a version number within the affected ranges (15.008.20082 to 22.001.20085, 17.011.30059 to 17.012.30205, or 20.001.30005 to 20.005.30314) and a malicious PDF is opened.

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 beyond the affected releases (22.001.20085, 20.005.3031x, 17.012.30205) to remediate the use-after-free vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Acrobat DC 22.001.20086 or later; Acrobat Reader DC 22.001.20086 or later; Acrobat 20.005.30315 or later; Acrobat Reader 20.005.30315 or later; Acrobat 17.012.30206 or later; Acrobat Reader 17.012.30206 or later

  1. Open Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader
  2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates or Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader
  3. Note the current version number
  4. Download and install the latest security update from the official Adobe website or use the built-in update checker
  5. Restart the application after the update completes
  6. Verify the version has been updated to a version newer than the vulnerable releases

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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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-2022-44520 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