CVE-2022-34248
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 an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing a crafted file, which could result in a read past the end of an allocated memory structure. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to execute code 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 · moderate confidenceAdobe InDesign versions 17.2.1 and earlier and 16.4.1 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing crafted files. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of an allocated memory structure and could potentially enable code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious .INDD file.
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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 version on WindowsOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, locate Adobe InDesign in the list, and note the version number displayed in the Version column. Alternatively, check the Windows Registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{ID} for the DisplayVersion value.Affected if The version listed is 16.4.1 or earlier, or falls between 17.2.0 and 17.2.1 inclusive
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Identify installed InDesign version on macOSOpen Finder, navigate to Applications, right-click Adobe InDesign, select Get Info, and read the Version number from the General information pane. Or run the command: defaults read /Applications/Adobe\ InDesign\ *.app/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionStringAffected if The version listed is 16.4.1 or earlier, or falls between 17.2.0 and 17.2.1 inclusive
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Verify InDesign is actively usedCheck if Adobe InDesign is installed on the system by searching for indesign.exe (Windows) or the InDesign application bundle (macOS) in standard installation directories.Affected if InDesign is installed and the version falls within the affected ranges identified in steps 1 or 2
A user is affected if Adobe InDesign version 16.4.1 or earlier, or version 17.2.0 through 17.2.1, is installed on the system.
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 · scopedApply Adobe's security update by upgrading to InDesign version 17.2.2/16.4.2 or later. Additionally, train users to avoid opening InDesign files from untrusted or unknown sources.
InDesign 16.5+ (for 16.x line) or InDesign 17.3+ (for 17.x line)
- 1. Close Adobe InDesign if it is currently running
- 2. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to the Adobe InDesign download page
- 3. Check your current InDesign version by launching InDesign and going to Help > About InDesign
- 4. If running version 16.4.1 or earlier, upgrade to version 16.5 or later
- 5. If running version 17.2.1 or earlier (versions 17.2.0-17.2.1 are also affected), upgrade to version 17.3 or later
- 6. Download and install the updated version through Adobe Creative Cloud
- 7. After installation, verify the new version by checking Help > About InDesign
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-34248 — 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-2022-34248 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data