Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability can let a malicious PDF read memory from Adobe Acrobat Reader and potentially expose information useful for bypassing defenses. It requires a person to open a crafted file, so risk is tied to phishing or document-sharing workflows rather than remote unauthenticated scanning.
Executive priority
Handle as a moderate endpoint patching priority. The issue is not presented as actively exploited, but it can support phishing-driven attacks and defense bypass when users open malicious documents.
Technical view
CVE-2022-28261 is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Acrobat Reader DC file parsing. The CVSS 3.1 score is 5.5, with local attack vector, no privileges required, required user interaction, and high confidentiality impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on user workstations running Acrobat Reader DC 22.001.2011x and earlier, 20.005.3033x and earlier, or 17.012.3022x and earlier. Server exposure is not indicated by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The sources say exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious file. The CVE is not listed as KEV, and the supplied evidence does not show active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
This is an information disclosure flaw that may help bypass ASLR rather than directly execute code. Treat it as meaningful in chained exploitation scenarios. The provided sources do not include proof-of-concept status or detailed fixed-version data.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB22-16 for the applicable Acrobat Reader update guidance.
- Update affected Acrobat Reader installations according to vendor guidance.
- Reduce user exposure to untrusted PDF attachments and downloads.
- Prioritize document-heavy teams and high-risk email users first.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Acrobat Reader versions across managed endpoints.
- Identify systems at or below the affected version ranges.
- Confirm deployed versions align with Adobe APSB22-16 guidance.
- Review email and endpoint controls for untrusted PDF handling.
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 lookupCVE-2022-28261 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
- 5.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/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:U/C:H/I:N/A:N1.83.6adobeVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/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.
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.