Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw lets a malicious PDF trigger code execution when opened in vulnerable Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. The attacker still needs a user to open the file, but successful exploitation could run with that user’s permissions and affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Executive priority
Treat as high-priority endpoint patching. The issue needs user interaction, but PDF lures are common and successful exploitation can compromise the user session.
Technical view
CVE-2022-24104 is a CWE-416 use-after-free in Acrobat Reader DC annotation handling. The CVSS 3.0 score is 7.8, with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, and required user interaction. Impact is arbitrary code execution in the current user context.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on endpoints running the listed Acrobat Reader DC version lines and used to open untrusted PDFs. The bundle lists affected ranges but does not provide CPEs or full platform detail.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious file, so email, web download, or document-sharing lures are the likely delivery context.
Researcher notes
The source bundle identifies affected Reader DC branches and impact, but version data is partly imprecise and no exploit evidence is provided. Use Adobe’s bulletin for authoritative remediation details and avoid assuming products beyond Acrobat Reader DC.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB22-16 for vendor-approved remediation guidance.
- Update affected Acrobat Reader DC installations per Adobe guidance.
- Prioritize endpoints that routinely handle external PDFs.
- Limit opening of untrusted PDFs until remediation is complete.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Acrobat Reader DC versions across managed endpoints.
- Compare installed versions with the affected ranges in the CVE record.
- Confirm patched systems no longer run affected Reader DC builds.
- Review security telemetry for suspicious PDF-open events where available.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-416: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-24104 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9adobeVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/acrobat/apsb22-16.htmlCVE reference, adobe · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Use After Free
Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.