CVE-2022-28251 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 an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing a crafted file, which could result in a read past the end of an allocated memory structure. 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 • 05/14/2022
This vulnerability represents a critical out-of-bounds read flaw in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC affecting multiple version ranges including 22.001.2011x and earlier, 20.005.3033x and earlier, and 17.012.3022x and earlier. The flaw manifests when the application processes a specially crafted file that triggers memory access beyond the boundaries of allocated structures. From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability falls under the category of memory corruption issues that can severely compromise system security. The technical implementation involves the parser failing to properly validate input boundaries during file processing, leading to unauthorized memory access patterns that can expose sensitive data or system information.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple memory access violations as it provides potential attackers with means to bypass important security mitigations such as Address Space Layout Randomization. This bypass capability significantly weakens the protection mechanisms that modern operating systems employ to prevent exploitation of similar vulnerabilities. The requirement for user interaction through file opening creates a realistic attack vector that leverages social engineering techniques, as victims must willingly open malicious documents for exploitation to occur. This user interaction requirement makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where employees frequently handle documents from external sources or may encounter phishing attempts through email attachments.
Security professionals should recognize this vulnerability as a classic example of improper input validation leading to memory safety issues, which aligns with CWE-125 - Out-of-Bounds Read and potentially CWE-787 - Out-of-Bounds Write depending on exploitation vectors. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this under T1203 - Exploitation for Client Execution and T1059 - Command and Scripting Interpreter when considering how attackers might leverage such vulnerabilities to execute malicious code. The vulnerability's exploitation requires careful crafting of input files that can trigger the specific parsing error, making it a targeted attack vector rather than a broad-based exploit. Organizations must understand that this vulnerability represents a significant risk to document handling security, particularly in environments where PDF files are frequently processed and shared.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patch management to update affected Adobe Acrobat Reader versions to those containing fixes for the memory access violation. System administrators should implement strict document handling policies that restrict opening of untrusted PDF files and consider deploying sandboxing solutions that isolate PDF processing from core system operations. Network-level protections such as email filtering and web proxies can help reduce the likelihood of users encountering malicious PDF files. Additionally, security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual PDF processing patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date software patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that protect against various attack vectors including those that exploit memory safety issues in widely used applications.