Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability lets a malicious PDF or similar crafted file potentially run code when opened in affected Adobe Acrobat Reader versions. The attacker needs the user to open the file, but successful exploitation would run with that user’s privileges and could affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority endpoint patching issue, especially for staff handling external documents. It is not confirmed as actively exploited in the provided evidence, but successful compromise could give attacker code execution under the victim user account.
Technical view
CVE-2022-28239 is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Acrobat Reader DC annotation parsing. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.8 with local attack vector and required user interaction. A crafted file can trigger a read past allocated memory and may lead to code execution as the current user.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on endpoints running Acrobat Reader DC 22.001.2011x or earlier, 20.005.3033x or earlier, or 17.012.3022x or earlier.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or cited active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction: a victim must open a malicious file. Treat phishing and document-delivery workflows as the main business risk path.
Researcher notes
Evidence identifies affected version families, CWE-125, CVSS 7.8, and required user interaction. The bundle does not provide exploit details, proof-of-concept status, or fixed version numbers, so remediation should be anchored to Adobe APSB22-16.
Mitigation direction
- Check Adobe APSB22-16 for vendor-approved fixed versions and update guidance.
- Prioritize updates on endpoints that regularly open external PDFs or email attachments.
- Reduce exposure to untrusted documents until affected Reader versions are updated.
- Use least-privilege user accounts to limit impact if code executes.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed Adobe Acrobat Reader versions across managed endpoints.
- Compare discovered versions against the affected branches listed for CVE-2022-28239.
- Confirm endpoints received the Adobe update recommended in APSB22-16.
- Review email and endpoint telemetry for suspicious document-open events, without assuming exploitation.
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-125: 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-2022-28239 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 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/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:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9adobeVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/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.
Out-of-bounds Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.