Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability can expose sensitive memory from Adobe Acrobat Reader when a user opens a malicious file. The direct business risk is information disclosure, but the leak could also weaken protections like ASLR and support a larger attack chain.
Executive priority
Treat this as a routine but timely endpoint patching issue. It is not documented as actively exploited here, but it affects common business software and can aid more serious attack chains.
Technical view
CVE-2022-28265 is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Acrobat Reader DC annotation parsing. A crafted file can cause a read past an allocated memory structure. CVSS 3.1 is 5.5: local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, user interaction required, high confidentiality impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on desktops running Acrobat Reader DC 22.001.2011x or earlier, 20.005.3033x or earlier, or 17.012.3022x or earlier, especially where users open external PDFs.
Exploitation context
The provided sources require victim interaction: the user must open a malicious file. The CVE is not listed as KEV, and the bundle provides no evidence of active exploitation.
Researcher notes
Do not assume code execution from the provided evidence. The documented impact is information disclosure through out-of-bounds read during crafted-file parsing, with possible ASLR mitigation bypass. Fixed-version details are not present in the bundle, so rely on Adobe APSB22-16 for remediation specifics.
Mitigation direction
- Review Adobe APSB22-16 and apply the applicable Acrobat Reader update guidance.
- Inventory Acrobat Reader installations against the affected version ranges.
- Prioritize systems whose users regularly receive external PDF files.
- Use existing email and web controls to reduce delivery of untrusted PDFs.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed Acrobat Reader versions are outside the affected ranges.
- Check software deployment records for successful Adobe update installation.
- Review endpoint inventory for remaining 22.001.2011x, 20.005.3033x, or 17.012.3022x versions.
- Confirm user-facing PDF handling controls cover externally sourced files.
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-2022-28265 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.