CVE-2022-28268 in Acrobat Reader
Summary
by MITRE • 05/11/2022
Acrobat Reader DC versions 22.001.20085 (and earlier), 20.005.3031x (and earlier) and 17.012.30205 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read 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 exists in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC across multiple version ranges including 22.001.20085 and earlier, 20.005.3031x and earlier, and 17.012.30205 and earlier versions. The flaw manifests as an out-of-bounds read condition that occurs when processing specially crafted malicious files, representing a critical memory safety issue that could potentially be exploited for advanced persistent threats. The vulnerability falls under the CWE-125 category of out-of-bounds read, which is a well-documented weakness in software security that allows attackers to access memory locations beyond the intended buffer boundaries. This specific implementation flaw enables attackers to read sensitive memory contents that may contain information such as stack canaries, heap addresses, or other security-related data that could be leveraged to bypass important exploit mitigations.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires user interaction, meaning that a victim must willingly open a maliciously crafted file to trigger the out-of-bounds read condition. This user interaction requirement places the vulnerability in the context of social engineering attacks where attackers must convince users to open malicious documents, typically through phishing campaigns or malicious email attachments. When a user opens such a file, the Acrobat Reader application processes the malformed data structure and attempts to read memory locations beyond the allocated buffer boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive information stored in adjacent memory regions. The memory disclosure aspect of this vulnerability is particularly concerning as it could reveal information that helps attackers defeat modern exploit mitigations such as address space layout randomization which relies on unpredictable memory layouts to prevent exploitation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the memory contents accessed during the out-of-bounds read may contain critical security information that could be used to bypass ASLR protections. Address Space Layout Randomization is a key exploit mitigation technique that randomizes the memory layout of processes to prevent attackers from reliably predicting memory addresses of important program components. However, when an out-of-bounds read vulnerability allows an attacker to access memory contents that contain information about the process layout, the effectiveness of ASLR can be significantly reduced. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it could enable more sophisticated attacks such as return-oriented programming or other advanced exploitation techniques that require precise memory address information. The vulnerability's presence in multiple version ranges indicates a widespread exposure that affects users across different Acrobat Reader DC releases, making it a high-priority target for threat actors seeking to compromise systems through document-based attacks.
Organizations should immediately update to the latest versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader DC to remediate this vulnerability, as Adobe has released patches addressing this specific out-of-bounds read condition. The recommended mitigation strategy includes implementing strict document handling policies that limit the opening of untrusted documents, particularly those received via email or downloaded from untrusted sources. Security teams should also consider deploying network-based intrusion detection systems that can identify and block malicious documents attempting to exploit this vulnerability. Additionally, users should be educated about the risks of opening suspicious documents and trained to recognize potential social engineering attempts. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1204.002 (User Execution: Malicious File) highlights the importance of user awareness training as a critical defense layer against exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to ensure all systems running Acrobat Reader DC are updated and protected against this and similar memory safety issues.