Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw lets a crafted PDF bypass Acrobat Reader DC’s content security policy and make configured cross-origin requests. A victim must interact with the malicious PDF from an attacker-controlled server. The main business risk is exposure of sensitive information from affected Reader installations, not automatic internet-scale compromise.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate endpoint risk requiring routine but tracked remediation. It needs user interaction and has no provided evidence of active exploitation, but the confidentiality impact is high enough to justify prompt patch verification.
Technical view
CVE-2022-28244 is a secure-design violation in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC affecting 22.001.20085 and earlier, 20.005.3031x and earlier, and 17.012.30205 and earlier. The issue enables CSP bypass and attacker-configured requests to a cross-origin target. CVSS 3.1 is 6.3 with required user interaction and high confidentiality impact.
Likely exposure
Organizations are exposed where users run affected Acrobat Reader DC versions and open untrusted PDFs, especially from external links. The provided sources do not identify server-side products, browser-only exposure, or non-Reader Adobe products as affected.
Exploitation context
The source bundle says exploitation requires the victim to access a crafted PDF on an attacker’s server. KEV is false, and the provided sources do not support a claim of active exploitation.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description, CVSS data, CWE-657, and Adobe advisory reference. The bundle does not provide exploit details, detection indicators, or explicit fixed build numbers. Validate patch mapping directly against Adobe APSB22-16.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB22-16 for official fixed versions and update guidance.
- Upgrade affected Acrobat Reader DC installations according to Adobe guidance.
- Reduce user exposure to untrusted PDFs from external links or unknown senders.
- Prioritize managed endpoint update enforcement for high-risk user groups.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Acrobat Reader DC versions across managed endpoints.
- Flag versions 22.001.20085 and earlier, 20.005.3031x and earlier, and 17.012.30205 and earlier.
- Confirm endpoints received Adobe’s applicable security update from APSB22-16.
- Review email and web controls for handling untrusted PDF links.
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-657: 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 lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-28244 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
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:C/C:H/I:N/A:N1.84adobeVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
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.
Violation of Secure Design Principles
Violation of Secure Design Principles represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.