Current-user code execution via annotation use-after-free
Published May 11, 2022 · Updated May 27, 2026
Use-after-free in Adobe Acrobat Reader allows attackers to run code as the current user after a victim opens a malicious PDF. The flaw is in annotation handling, but Adobe has not disclosed which annotation object is freed prematurely or how crafted PDF content causes its later reuse. Exploitation requires a victim to open the file, and successful exploitation runs code with that victim's privileges rather than granting higher privileges.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Adobe Acrobat Reader allows attackers to run code as the current user after a victim opens a malicious PDF. The flaw is in annotation handling, but Adobe has not disclosed which annotation object is freed prematurely or how crafted PDF content causes its later reuse. Exploitation requires a victim to open the file, and successful exploitation runs code with that victim's privileges rather than granting higher privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-28242
- Published
- May 11, 2022
- Updated
- May 27, 2026
- Vendor
- Adobe
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1203, T1204.002
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 11, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=17.012.30205
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=20.005.3031x
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=22.001.20085
- Affected versionversion=unspecified <=None
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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