CVE-2022-34225
Published: 15 July 2022
Summary
CVE-2022-34225 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Adobe Acrobat. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 22.7% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.001.20142 and earlier, 20.005.30334 and earlier, and 17.012.30229 and earlier contain a Use After Free vulnerability, tracked as CWE-416, that can lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8 with an attack vector of local access, low complexity, no privileges required, and user interaction needed.
An attacker can exploit the issue by supplying a malicious file that a victim must open, after which the vulnerability allows arbitrary code to run with the privileges of the logged-in user. No other attacker capabilities or remote vectors are described.
The referenced Adobe security advisory APSB22-32 details the affected releases and corresponding patches that address the vulnerability through updated builds of Acrobat Reader.
EPSS for the CVE rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.0749 on 2025-01-22 before receding to the current value of 0.0099, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-37194
Vulnerability details
Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.001.20142 (and earlier), 20.005.30334 (and earlier) and 17.012.30229 (and earlier) are affected by a Use After Free vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue…
more
requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Use-after-free exploits that achieve arbitrary code execution are blocked or significantly hardened by non-executable pages and ASLR.