Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-28240 is a high-severity Adobe Acrobat Reader DC flaw. A malicious file can trigger memory corruption and let an attacker run code as the logged-in user. The main business risk is workstation compromise through document-based phishing or file delivery.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority endpoint patching issue, especially for staff handling external documents. It is not KEV-listed in the provided evidence, but successful exploitation could compromise user workstations.
Technical view
The issue is a CWE-416 use-after-free in Acrobat Reader DC annotation handling. Affected versions include 22.001.2011x and earlier, 20.005.3033x and earlier, and 17.012.3022x and earlier. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8 with required user interaction and no privileges required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on user endpoints where affected Acrobat Reader DC versions are installed and users can open externally supplied PDFs or other malicious files.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction: the victim must open a malicious file.
Researcher notes
The source evidence supports RCE in the current user context through a use-after-free. It does not provide exploit details, indicators, or fixed version numbers in the bundle. Use Adobe APSB22-16 for exact remediation details.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB22-16 for the vendor-provided Acrobat Reader update guidance.
- Update affected Acrobat Reader DC installations beyond the listed vulnerable versions.
- Prioritize systems used to open external documents or email attachments.
- Limit risky file handling through email, web, and endpoint controls where feasible.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Acrobat Reader DC versions across managed endpoints.
- Compare installed versions against 22.001.2011x, 20.005.3033x, and 17.012.3022x thresholds.
- Confirm Adobe APSB22-16 updates are deployed successfully.
- Review endpoint telemetry for suspicious document-open events if exposure was present.
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-2022-28240 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.
Use After Free
Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.