Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability could let a malicious PDF run code when an employee opens it in affected Adobe Acrobat Reader DC versions. The attacker still needs user interaction, so phishing or document-delivery scenarios are the main business concern. Impact is serious because successful code runs as the current user.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation in normal high-severity patch cycles, with faster handling for teams that process untrusted PDFs. The risk is not wormable from the provided evidence, but successful exploitation could compromise user workstations and business data accessible to that user.
Technical view
CVE-2022-27789 is a CWE-416 use-after-free in Acrobat Reader DC AcroForm event processing. The CVSS 3.0 score is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, and required user interaction. Affected versions include 22.001.20085 and earlier, 20.005.3031x and earlier, and 17.012.30205 and earlier.
Likely exposure
Organizations are exposed where affected Acrobat Reader DC versions remain installed on endpoints that handle external or untrusted PDF files. Exposure is especially relevant for email, web download, legal, finance, HR, and support workflows that routinely receive documents from outside parties.
Exploitation context
The source bundle says exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious file. It does not cite CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Treat it as a credible document-based RCE risk, but do not claim known exploitation from the provided evidence.
Researcher notes
Focus validation on Reader DC version evidence and document-handling exposure. The bundle identifies AcroForm event processing and use-after-free behavior, but does not provide exploit details, fixed build numbers, or active exploitation evidence. Use Adobe APSB22-16 as the authoritative remediation reference.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB22-16 and apply the vendor-provided update guidance.
- Identify and upgrade Acrobat Reader DC 22.001.20085 and earlier installations.
- Identify and upgrade 20.005.3031x and earlier, and 17.012.30205 and earlier installations.
- Reduce exposure to unsolicited PDFs through mail and web filtering controls.
- Prioritize supported Reader versions on high-risk document-handling endpoints.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoint Adobe Acrobat Reader DC versions across managed devices.
- Confirm affected branches are no longer present after patch deployment.
- Review patch management records for Adobe APSB22-16 coverage.
- Check document-ingress controls for external PDF scanning and user warnings.
- Validate EDR coverage for PDF reader child-process and code-execution alerts.
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-2022-27789 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.