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IndesignApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-34246

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-07-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 17.2.1 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 17.2.1 (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 confidence

Adobe InDesign versions 17.2.1 and earlier and 16.4.1 and earlier contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that can be triggered when a user opens a maliciously crafted file. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe InDesign to the latest patched versions. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InDesign files, as exploitation requires user interaction.

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, <= 17.2.1

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. Check installed InDesign version on Windows
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, find Adobe InDesign in the list, and note the version column. Alternatively, open InDesign and go to Help > About InDesign to see the exact version number.
    Affected if The version shown is 16.4.1 or lower, OR between 17.0 and 17.2.1 inclusive.
  2. Check installed InDesign version on macOS
    Open Finder > Applications, right-click Adobe InDesign, select Get Info, and view the Version field. Alternatively, open InDesign and go to Help > About Adobe InDesign.
    Affected if The version shown is 16.4.1 or lower, OR between 17.0 and 17.2.1 inclusive.
  3. Check InDesign version via command line (Windows)
    Open Command Prompt and run: dir "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign*" /s /b | findstr "ID.exe" then run: powershell (Get-Item "path\to\ID.exe").VersionInfo.ProductVersion
    Affected if The reported version is 16.4.1 or lower, OR between 17.0 and 17.2.1 inclusive.
  4. Verify InDesign version via registry (Windows)
    Open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\InDesign\Version (or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Adobe\InDesign\Version), then check the (Default) value for the installed version string.
    Affected if The registry version value is 16.4.1 or lower, OR between 17.0 and 17.2.1 inclusive.
  5. Determine if untrusted files are handled
    Review your workflow for opening InDesign files. Check whether files from external sources, email attachments, or unexpected sources are opened without verification.
    Affected if You or users in your environment open InDesign files from untrusted sources without validation, as exploitation requires user interaction to open a maliciously crafted file.

You are affected if Adobe InDesign is installed with a version number within 16.4.1 or lower, or between 17.0 and 17.2.1 inclusive, and users may open untrusted or unexpected 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 17.2.1
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe InDesign to the latest patched versions. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InDesign files, as exploitation requires user interaction.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

InDesign 16.5+ or 17.3+ (choose the appropriate major version branch)

  1. 1. Close Adobe InDesign if currently running
  2. 2. Back up any important InDesign files and presets
  3. 3. Uninstall the current version of Adobe InDesign
  4. 4. Download Adobe InDesign version 16.5 or later (for 16.x line users)
  5. 5. Download Adobe InDesign version 17.3 or later (for 17.x line users)
  6. 6. Install the updated version from get.adobe.com or the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches the target fixed release
  8. 8. Reopen InDesign and confirm normal functionality
Caveat Adobe InDesign major version upgrades may require document format migration; older plugins/extensions may need updates for compatibility with new versions

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

Fix this in Indesign Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2022-34246 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