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Acrobat CVE-2022-35691

MEDIUM
NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)
2022-10-14 psirt@adobe.com
5.5
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: adobe
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A10:2025 - Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions
ASVS 5.0
V16 - Security Logging and Error Handling Null pointer safety, defensive checks
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local attacker with access to the system could crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 4.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.002.20212 (and earlier) and 20.005.30381 (and earlier) are affected by a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Check pointers before dereferencing. Use static analysis tools to detect null pointer paths.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476), which allows attackers to crash the application by dereferencing a null pointer. Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.002.20212 (and earlier) and 20.005.30381 (and earlier) are affected by a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve an application denial-of-service in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file. Affected products include: Adobe Acrobat Dc, Adobe Acrobat Reader Dc, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat Reader.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (adobe) PRIMARY 5.5 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from Vendor (adobe) · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorVendor: adobe

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

Adobe Acrobat Reader versions 22.002.20212 (and earlier) and 20.005.30381 (and earlier) are affected by a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve an application denial-of-service in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
4.4%
Top 10% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 4.4%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

32
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +4
CVSS: +28
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

A null pointer dereference occurs when a program attempts to access memory through a pointer that has been set to NULL (address 0x0).

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_dc:*:*:*:*:continuous:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader_dc:*:*:*:*:continuous:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat:*:*:*:*:classic:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:adobe:acrobat_reader:*:*:*:*:classic:*:*:*
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