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IndesignApplication · Adobe

CVE-2022-38417

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 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 confidence

Adobe InDesign versions 16.4.2 and earlier and 17.3 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing specially crafted files. The vulnerability allows reading past the end of an allocated memory structure, which an attacker could leverage to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Successful exploitation requires user interaction in the form of opening a malicious InDesign file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe InDesign to the latest patched version. Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InDesign files from unverified sources, 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:>= 16.0, <= 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. Check installed Adobe InDesign version
    Open InDesign, go to Help > About Adobe InDesign, or check the application version through the installed programs list in Windows Control Panel or macOS Applications folder
    Affected if Version falls within 16.0 through 16.4.2, or 17.0 through 17.3 (including any point release like 16.1, 16.2, 17.1, 17.2)
  2. Compare version against CVE ranges
    If version shows as 16.x, ensure it is greater than 16.4.2. If version shows as 17.x, ensure it is greater than 17.3. Any version at or below these thresholds is affected
    Affected if Installed version is 16.4.2 or earlier, or 17.3 or earlier
  3. Verify InDesign is being used
    Confirm Adobe InDesign desktop application is installed and actively used on the system
    Affected if InDesign is installed and the version falls within the vulnerable ranges

A user is affected if Adobe InDesign version 16.0 through 16.4.2 or 17.0 through 17.3 is installed on their system, as the out-of-bounds read flaw exists in these versions when parsing crafted 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 17.3
Interim mitigation

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

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe InDesign 16.4.3 or later (16.x branch); Adobe InDesign 17.4 or later (17.x branch)

  1. 1. Verify your current Adobe InDesign version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About InDesign
  2. 2. Close Adobe InDesign completely before updating
  3. 3. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application
  4. 4. Navigate to the Apps tab where all installed Adobe applications are listed
  5. 5. Find Adobe InDesign in the list of installed apps
  6. 6. If an update is available, click the Update button next to InDesign
  7. 7. Alternatively, you can manually download the latest version from the official Adobe website at adobe.com
  8. 8. After updating, verify the version number matches or exceeds the fixed release (16.4.3 or later for 16.x branch, 17.4 or later for 17.x branch)
Caveat Minor: Some legacy document compatibility settings or older plug-ins may require verification after major version upgrades; always backup important files before updating

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

Fix this in Indesign 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-2022-38417 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