CVE-2022-38416
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 16.4.2 (and earlier) and 17.3 (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 · high confidenceAdobe InDesign versions 16.4.2 and earlier, and 17.3 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability triggered when parsing a crafted file. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of an allocated memory structure, which can potentially be leveraged to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires user interaction in the form of opening a malicious InDesign 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>= 16.0, <= 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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Identify installed InDesign versionOpen InDesign, then go to Help > About InDesign (or use the version info in the application properties/registry depending on your deployment method)Affected if The displayed version falls within 16.0 to 16.4.2 inclusive OR 17.0 to 17.3 inclusive
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Compare version against affected rangesIf you can query software inventory programmatically (e.g., via SCCM, registry, or asset management), verify the version number matches the affected rangesAffected if Installed version is 16.4.2 or earlier, or 17.3 or earlier
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Assess file parsing exposureDetermine whether users in your environment routinely open InDesign files from external sources, email attachments, or untrusted locationsAffected if Users regularly open InDesign files from untrusted or external sources without additional scanning
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Review email gateway or endpoint controlsCheck if incoming email attachments or downloaded files are scanned before user access (this does not prevent the vulnerability but may block the exploit vector)Affected if No file scanning or sandboxing is applied to InDesign files before opening
You are affected if Adobe InDesign version 16.0 through 16.4.2 or 17.0 through 17.3 is installed and users can open untrusted InDesign 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 · scopedUpdate Adobe InDesign to a patched version beyond 16.4.2 and 17.3. Implement additional controls such as email gateway scanning, endpoint protection, and user training to prevent opening of untrusted files.
InDesign 16.4.3 or later for 16.x line; InDesign 17.4 or later for 17.x line
- Download Adobe InDesign version 16.4.3 or later (for 16.x line) or version 17.4 or later (for 17.x line) from the official Adobe website at helpx.adobe.com
- Ensure you download from the official Adobe download page to avoid tampered installers
- Backup your current InDesign projects before upgrading
- Close any running instances of Adobe InDesign
- Install the updated InDesign version using the downloaded installer
- Restart your computer after installation completes
- Verify the installed version by opening InDesign and checking Help > About Adobe 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-2022-38416 — 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-2022-38416 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