CVE-2022-28250 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE • 05/11/2022
Acrobat Reader DC version 22.001.2011x (and earlier), 20.005.3033x (and earlier) and 17.012.3022x (and earlier) are affected by a use-after-free vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/13/2022
This vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free condition in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC across multiple version ranges, specifically affecting versions 22.001.2011x and earlier, 20.005.3033x and earlier, and 17.012.3022x and earlier. The flaw manifests within the document parsing and rendering components of the software, where improper memory management allows for the execution of arbitrary code through memory corruption techniques. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-416 which specifically addresses use-after-free conditions, making it a well-documented and dangerous class of memory safety issues that have historically led to significant security breaches.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to craft a malicious PDF file that triggers the use-after-free condition when processed by the vulnerable Acrobat Reader version. When a user opens such a file, the application attempts to access memory that has already been freed, creating a scenario where the attacker can manipulate the freed memory location to inject and execute malicious code. This particular vulnerability is especially concerning because it can be leveraged to bypass modern exploit mitigations such as Address Space Layout Randomization, which is designed to make memory addresses unpredictable and thus harder to exploit. The bypass of ASLR represents a sophisticated attack vector that demonstrates the depth of the memory corruption issue.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution to include potential full system compromise and data exfiltration. Since the exploitation requires user interaction through opening a malicious file, it typically follows social engineering tactics such as phishing campaigns or malicious email attachments. The vulnerability affects users across multiple product versions, indicating a widespread exposure that would require comprehensive patch management across organizations. Organizations that rely heavily on PDF document processing, particularly those with limited security awareness training, face elevated risk from this vulnerability. The attack surface is broad given that PDF files are commonly used in business communications, making this a particularly dangerous flaw for enterprise environments.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patch deployment as the primary defense mechanism, with organizations monitoring for CVE-2022-28250 updates from Adobe. Security teams should implement additional layers of protection including email filtering solutions that can identify and block suspicious PDF attachments, application whitelisting to restrict execution of untrusted PDF files, and network-based intrusion detection systems that can identify potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1203 (Exploitation for Client Execution) and T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) highlights the multi-stage nature of exploitation that security teams must defend against. Organizations should also consider implementing sandboxing technologies for PDF processing and conducting regular security assessments to identify other potential vulnerabilities in their document processing pipelines.