CVE-2022-28831
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAdobe InDesign versions 17.1 (and earlier) and 16.4.1 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceAdobe InDesign versions 17.1 and earlier and 16.4.1 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability. By tricking a user into opening a specially crafted malicious INDD file, an attacker can trigger the software to write data beyond allocated memory buffers, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution with the current user's privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 16.4.1>= 17.0, <= 17.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate installed Adobe InDesign versionOpen Adobe Creative Cloud app, go to All Apps section, find Adobe InDesign and record the version number shown. On Windows you can also check Control Panel > Programs and Features; on macOS check Applications folder for InDesign and Get Info to see version.Affected if InDesign version displayed is 16.4.1 or earlier, or falls between 17.0 and 17.1 inclusive
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Confirm version is within affected rangeCompare the recorded version number against the vulnerable ranges: version 16.4.1 or lower, or any version from 17.0 to 17.1.Affected if Installed version matches either 16.4.1 and below or 17.0-17.1 range
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Verify file handling component is presentConfirm InDesign application is functional and can access the INDD file opening capability - this is the default state when InDesign is installed, requiring no special configuration.Affected if InDesign is installed and operational with ability to open .indd files
You are affected if Adobe InDesign is installed with version 16.4.1 or earlier, or version 17.0 through 17.1, as these versions contain the vulnerable INDD file parsing component.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpdate InDesign to version 17.2 or 16.4.2 and later. Until patched, avoid opening InDesign files from untrusted or unknown sources.
InDesign 16.4.2 or later (16.x series); InDesign 17.2 or later (17.x series)
- 1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or check for updates within Adobe InDesign
- 2. Navigate to the Updates section and check for available updates
- 3. If using InDesign 16.x series, ensure update to version 16.4.2 or later
- 4. If using InDesign 17.x series, ensure update to version 17.2 or later
- 5. After updating, verify the installed version via Help > About Adobe InDesign
- 6. Ensure users do not open untrusted or malicious .indd files from unknown sources as a defense-in-depth measure
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-28831 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-28831 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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