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AcrobatApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-22242

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.005.30436 / 22.003.20310 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
Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.003.20282 (and earlier), 22.003.20281 (and earlier) and 20.005.30418 (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

Adobe Acrobat Reader contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability allowing arbitrary code execution when a victim opens a malicious PDF file. The vulnerability affects versions 22.003.20282 and earlier, 22.003.20281 and earlier, and 20.005.30418 and earlier.

MitigationApply the vendor patch by updating Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than the affected releases listed above.

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:>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30436
Acrobat DcApplication
Affected:< 22.003.20310
Acrobat ReaderApplication
Affected:>= 20.001.30005, < 20.005.30436
Acrobat Reader DcApplication
Affected:< 22.003.20310

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 Reader is installed
    Check for the presence of Adobe Acrobat Reader on the system. On Windows, look in Program Files or Program Files (x86) for an Adobe folder. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe Acrobat Reader.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is found on the system
  2. Identify the installed version number
    Open Adobe Acrobat Reader, then go to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader. The version number is displayed in the about dialog.
    Affected if A version number is displayed
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Compare the installed version to the vulnerable ranges: versions 22.x below 22.003.20310, and versions 20.x below 20.005.30436.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 20.005.30436 (for 20.x branches) or lower than 22.003.20310 (for 22.x branches)
  4. Confirm the attack surface exists
    Verify the application can open PDF files. The vulnerability is triggered when the application opens a malicious PDF file.
    Affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader is set as the default PDF viewer or is used to open PDF files

A system is affected if Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat is installed with a version below 20.005.30436 or below 22.003.20310, and the application is used to open 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 20.005.30436 / 22.003.20310 or later
Fixed in 20.005.3043622.003.20310
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch by updating Adobe Acrobat Reader to a version newer than the affected releases listed above.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Acrobat/Reader 20.005.30436+ or 22.003.20310+ (latest available version recommended)

  1. Check current Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader version by opening the application, then navigating to Help > About Adobe Acrobat Reader/Acrobat
  2. Download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader from the official Adobe website (get.adobe.com/reader or get.adobe.com/acrobat)
  3. Close all running instances of Adobe Acrobat/Reader
  4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the installation
  5. Restart the application and verify the version has been updated to a fixed release (20.005.30436+ for the 20.x track, or 22.003.20310+ for the 22.x track)
Caveat Standard update; ensure compatibility with existing PDF workflows and plugins before deploying in production environments

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

Fix this in Acrobat Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,304.

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-2023-22242 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