CVE-2022-38403
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 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 confidenceAdobe InCopy versions 17.3 and earlier, and 16.4.2 and earlier contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious file. The attack requires user interaction (opening a crafted file), and executes 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>= 16.0, <= 16.4.2>= 17.0, <= 17.3CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Adobe InCopy is installedCheck for Adobe InCopy installation. On Windows, look in Program Files/Adobe or check the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\InCopy. On macOS, check /Applications/Adobe InCopy.Affected if Adobe InCopy is present on the system
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Determine installed InCopy versionOpen Adobe InCopy and go to Help > About Adobe InCopy, or check the version in the application metadata. On Windows, you can also check the file version of InCopy.exe in the installation folder.Affected if The displayed version falls within 16.0 to 16.4.2 or 17.0 to 17.3 inclusive
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Confirm affected version rangeCompare your installed version number against the vulnerable ranges: 16.0 through 16.4.2, and 17.0 through 17.3. Any version in these ranges is affected.Affected if Installed version is 16.4.2 or earlier, or 17.3 or earlier
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Assess exposure to malicious filesConsider whether the system opens InCopy files from untrusted sources, as exploitation requires a user to open a specially crafted malicious file.Affected if Users open InCopy files from untrusted or unknown sources without verifying file safety
You are affected if Adobe InCopy version 16.4.2 or earlier, or version 17.3 or earlier is installed and users may open untrusted InCopy documents.
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 · scopedUpdate 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 files until the update is applied.
Adobe InCopy 16.4.3 or later for 16.x line; Adobe InCopy 17.4 or later for 17.x line
- 1. Close Adobe InCopy if it is currently running
- 2. Navigate to the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or visit the Adobe InCopy download page at helpx.adobe.com
- 3. Check for available updates for Adobe InCopy
- 4. If an update is available, download and install the latest version
- 5. Alternatively, manually download the fixed version from Adobe's official website
- 6. After installation, verify the version by opening InCopy and checking Help > About InCopy
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-38403 — 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-2022-38403 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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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.
- 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