CVE-2022-28252 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 versions including 22.001.2011x and earlier, 20.005.3033x and earlier, and 17.012.3022x and earlier. The flaw occurs during the parsing of maliciously crafted files when the application attempts to read memory beyond the boundaries of allocated structures. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 category of out-of-bounds read conditions which represents one of the most common and dangerous classes of memory corruption vulnerabilities in software applications. The vulnerability specifically impacts the PDF parsing engine within Acrobat Reader, where improper bounds checking allows an attacker to access memory locations that should remain protected or inaccessible.
The technical execution of this vulnerability requires a user interaction model where victims must open a maliciously crafted PDF file to trigger the exploitable condition. When the vulnerable application processes the specially crafted file, it reads beyond allocated memory boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive memory contents including stack canaries, return addresses, or other security-related data structures. This memory access violation creates opportunities for bypassing modern exploit mitigations such as Address Space Layout Randomization, which relies on the unpredictability of memory addresses to prevent successful exploitation. The vulnerability essentially allows an attacker to perform information disclosure attacks that could reveal memory layout details and other sensitive information that would normally be protected by the operating system's memory management mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure to potentially enable more sophisticated exploitation techniques. While the initial vulnerability may only allow for memory disclosure, the leaked information can be used to circumvent security protections that depend on memory address randomness. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where multiple security mitigations are in place, as it provides attackers with the means to defeat ASLR and other protections that would otherwise prevent successful exploitation. The attack vector requires social engineering to convince users to open malicious files, but once executed, the vulnerability can provide attackers with significant information about the target system's memory layout and potentially enable more advanced exploitation techniques such as return-oriented programming or other memory corruption attacks.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including keeping Acrobat Reader updated to the latest versions that contain patches for this vulnerability, implementing strict file validation policies for PDF documents, and deploying application whitelisting solutions to prevent execution of unauthorized PDF processing applications. Security teams should also consider network-based detection measures to identify potentially malicious PDF files and implement user education programs to reduce the risk of social engineering attacks. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that reduce the attack surface for memory corruption vulnerabilities. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007 for execution through PDF files and T1068 for privilege escalation through memory corruption, making it a significant concern for enterprise security postures.