dbcve.org
IncopyApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-38401

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 17.3 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 InCopy version 17.3 (and earlier) and 16.4.2 (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 InCopy versions 17.3 and earlier, and 16.4.2 and earlier contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that can be exploited to achieve arbitrary code execution. The attack requires user interaction where a victim must open a malicious crafted file, after which the attacker can execute code with the privileges of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe InCopy to version 17.4 or later (for the 17.x branch) or version 16.4.3 or later (for the 16.x branch). Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InCopy files from untrusted 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
IncopyApplication
Affected:>= 16.0, <= 16.4.2>= 17.0, <= 17.3

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. Confirm Adobe InCopy is installed
    On Windows, check for the presence of InCopy in the Adobe application folder (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InCopy 2022 or Adobe InCopy 2023). On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe InCopy.
    Affected if Adobe InCopy is present on the system
  2. Find the installed version number
    On Windows, open the application and go to Help > About Adobe InCopy, or right-click the executable and view Properties > Details. On macOS, right-click the application in Finder and select Get Info, or use Get Info window.
    Affected if A version number is displayed
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Match the installed version to these affected ranges: 16.0 through 16.4.2, or 17.0 through 17.3. Any version within these ranges is vulnerable.
    Affected if The installed version is 16.0 to 16.4.2 OR 17.0 to 17.3
  4. Note the attack vector requirement
    The vulnerability is triggered only when a user opens a specially crafted malicious file. Check recent or unexpected .icml or .incx files opened from untrusted sources.
    Affected if A user has opened a maliciously crafted InCopy file from an untrusted source

A user is affected if Adobe InCopy versions 16.0-16.4.2 or 17.0-17.3 are installed AND a malicious file has been opened by the user.

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 17.3
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe InCopy to version 17.4 or later (for the 17.x branch) or version 16.4.3 or later (for the 16.x branch). Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InCopy files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

InCopy 16.4.3 (for 16.x line) or 17.3.1 (for 17.x line)

  1. 1. Close all instances of Adobe InCopy
  2. 2. Visit the Adobe Downloads page or use Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application to check for updates
  3. 3. If an update is available for InCopy, apply the security update
  4. 4. Restart the application after the update completes
  5. 5. Verify the installed version is 16.4.3 or later for the 16.x line, or 17.3.1 or later for the 17.x line
Caveat Standard minor version update with security fixes - minimal risk of breaking changes expected

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

Fix this in Incopy Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

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-2022-38401 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