CVE-2022-30661
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 17.2.1 (and earlier) and 16.4.1 (and earlier) are affected by a Heap-based Buffer Overflow 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 17.2.1/16.4.1 and earlier contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in the file parsing logic. An attacker can craft a malicious InDesign file that, when opened by a victim, triggers the overflow and allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.
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>= 17.2.0, <= 17.2.1CVSS 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:3.0/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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Identify installed InDesign versionOpen Adobe InDesign and navigate to Help > About InDesign (Windows) or InDesign > About InDesign (Mac). The version number displays in the dialog window. Alternatively, check the Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\InDesign\InstallVersion or inspect the application bundle info on macOS.Affected if The displayed version is 16.4.1 or earlier, or falls within 17.2.0 to 17.2.1
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Confirm version falls within affected rangesCompare the identified version against the affected ranges: version 16.x up to and including 16.4.1, or version 17.2.0 through 17.2.1. Note that version 17.0 and 17.1 are NOT affected, only 17.2.0 and 17.2.1.Affected if Version is exactly 16.4.1 or any earlier 16.x release, or is exactly 17.2.0 or 17.2.1
If the installed Adobe InDesign version is 16.4.1 or earlier, or is within the 17.2.0 to 17.2.1 range, the environment contains the vulnerable file parsing logic susceptible to heap-based buffer overflow when opening malicious .indd files.
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 · scopedUpgrade Adobe InDesign to version 17.3 or later (for 17.x) and 16.4.2 or later (for 16.x) to obtain the vendor patch. Avoid opening untrusted InDesign files until patching is complete.
Adobe InDesign 16.4.2 or later; Adobe InDesign 17.3 or later
- 1. Close Adobe InDesign if it is currently running
- 2. Back up any important InDesign files and templates as a precaution
- 3. Uninstall the current version of Adobe InDesign
- 4. Download Adobe InDesign version 16.4.2 or later (for the 16.x branch)
- 5. Alternatively, download Adobe InDesign version 17.3 or later (for the 17.x branch)
- 6. Install the updated version from the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or from get.adobe.com/indesign
- 7. Verify the installed version matches the fixed release (Help > About InDesign)
- 8. Reopen InDesign and confirm normal functionality
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-30661 — 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-2022-30661 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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