Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw lets a malicious PDF trigger code execution in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC when a user opens the file. The attacker gains the same rights as the current user, so business impact depends heavily on endpoint privileges and PDF-handling workflows.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority endpoint patching issue, not an internet-exposed server emergency. Focus on rapid coverage for employees handling outside documents and accounts with elevated privileges.
Technical view
CVE-2022-27800 is a CWE-416 use-after-free in Acrobat Reader DC annotation processing. Affected versions include 22.001.20085 and earlier, 20.005.3031x and earlier, and 17.012.30205 and earlier. CVSS is 7.8 with user interaction required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely on workstations running affected Adobe Acrobat Reader DC versions, especially users receiving PDFs by email, web download, client portals, or document-sharing platforms.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation requires convincing a victim to open a malicious file, then code may run as that user.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports memory-corruption RCE through annotation handling with UI required. The bundle does not provide exploit details, fixed build numbers, or active exploitation evidence beyond KEV=false.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Acrobat Reader DC versions across managed endpoints.
- Apply Adobe guidance from APSB22-16 without inventing fixed version assumptions.
- Prioritize users who routinely open external PDFs.
- Reduce local administrator use on PDF-handling endpoints.
- Warn users against opening unexpected PDF attachments until remediated.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed versions are not within the affected version ranges.
- Verify remediation status against Adobe APSB22-16.
- Check vulnerability scanner results for CVE-2022-27800 coverage.
- Review endpoint software inventory for legacy Acrobat Reader tracks.
- Assess PDF intake workflows for external-file exposure.
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-2022-27800 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.