dbcve.org
IndesignApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-28833

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 17.1 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 · unedited
Adobe 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 confidence

Adobe InDesign versions 17.1 and earlier and 16.4.1 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that can be triggered by opening a maliciously crafted file, leading to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe InDesign to a patched version beyond 17.1 and 16.4.1. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InDesign files from unknown sources.

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
IndesignApplication
Affected:<= 16.4.1>= 17.0, <= 17.1

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Adobe InDesign version
    Open InDesign, then go to Help > About Adobe InDesign to view the full version number (e.g., 17.1, 16.4.1). Alternatively, check the application's info.plist or executable properties for the version field.
    Affected if The displayed version falls within 16.4.1 or earlier, OR within the range 17.0 to 17.1 inclusive.
  2. Check for all InDesign installations on the system
    On Windows, review Add/Remove Programs or the Program Files directory for Adobe InDesign entries. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe InDesign folders and note each installed version.
    Affected if Any installed copy of InDesign matches the affected version ranges (16.4.1 or earlier, or 17.0 to 17.1).
  3. Confirm the vulnerability trigger condition
    Understand that this flaw is triggered when opening a maliciously crafted InDesign file (.indd, .idml, or similar). The vulnerability exists in the file parsing logic regardless of specific configuration settings.
    Affected if The affected InDesign version is present AND the user opens untrusted or crafted InDesign files from unknown sources.
  4. Review recent file opening activity (optional)
    Check recent documents folder or file access logs for any opened .indd or .idml files from untrusted sources around the time of potential exposure.
    Affected if Files from untrusted sources were opened on a system with an affected InDesign version.

You are affected if any installed Adobe InDesign version is 16.4.1 or earlier, or falls between 17.0 and 17.1 inclusive, and you may have opened untrusted InDesign files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 17.1
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe InDesign to a patched version beyond 17.1 and 16.4.1. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InDesign files from unknown sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe InDesign 16.4.2 or later (16.x line); Adobe InDesign 17.2 or later (17.x line)

  1. 1. Determine the current installed version of Adobe InDesign by opening InDesign and navigating to Help > About Adobe InDesign
  2. 2. If using version 16.x (e.g., 16.4.1 or earlier), upgrade to version 16.4.2 or later
  3. 3. If using version 17.x (e.g., 17.0-17.1), upgrade to version 17.2 or later
  4. 4. Download the updated version from the official Adobe website or use the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application to update
  5. 5. Close any running instances of Adobe InDesign before installing the update
  6. 6. Install the updated version and restart the application
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically do not introduce breaking changes; however, always backup important work before updating

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Indesign Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-28833 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data