dbcve.org
IndesignApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-21590

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 17.4 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 version 18.0 (and earlier), 17.4 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds write 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 InDesign versions 17.4 and earlier and 18.0 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that allows memory corruption when processing a specially crafted file. Successful exploitation enables arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, but requires the victim to open a malicious .indd file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe InDesign to the latest patched version. Users should avoid opening InDesign files from untrusted or unknown sources. Enterprise deployments should use centralized software distribution to ensure all installations are patched.

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:>= 17.0, <= 17.4= 18.0

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 on Windows
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or right-click the Start menu and select 'Apps and Features', then locate Adobe InDesign in the list and note the version number displayed
    Affected if The displayed version is 17.0 through 17.4, or equals 18.0
  2. Check installed Adobe InDesign version on macOS
    Open Finder, go to the Applications folder, locate Adobe InDesign, right-click and select 'Get Info', or use Finder's 'Get Info' window to view the version number
    Affected if The displayed version is 17.0 through 17.4, or equals 18.0
  3. Check InDesign version via command line (Windows)
    Open Command Prompt and run: wmic product where "name like 'Adobe InDesign%'" get name,version
    Affected if The version output shows 17.0 through 17.4, or shows 18.0
  4. Check InDesign version via command line (macOS)
    Open Terminal and run: defaults read "/Applications/Adobe InDesign*/Adobe InDesign*.app/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleVersion 2>/dev/null || mdls -name kMDItemVersion "/Applications/Adobe InDesign*.app"
    Affected if The version output shows 17.0 through 17.4, or shows 18.0

If the installed Adobe InDesign version is 17.0 through 17.4 or is exactly 18.0, the environment is within the affected version range and could be exploited if a user opens a specially crafted malicious .indd file.

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 17.4
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe InDesign to the latest patched version. Users should avoid opening InDesign files from untrusted or unknown sources. Enterprise deployments should use centralized software distribution to ensure all installations are patched.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe InDesign 18.1 or later (or 17.5 or later for the 17.x line)

  1. 1. Close Adobe InDesign if currently running
  2. 2. Back up any important InDesign files and presets
  3. 3. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application
  4. 4. Navigate to the Apps tab or InDesign section
  5. 5. Click the Update button next to Adobe InDesign if an update is available
  6. 6. If update is not showing, manually check for updates via Help > Updates in InDesign
  7. 7. Download and install InDesign version 18.1 or later (or 17.5 or later for the 17.x line) from helpx.adobe.com
  8. 8. Restart the application after update completes
Caveat Standard upgrade; review release notes for potential workspace or script compatibility changes

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

Fix this in Indesign Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

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-2023-21590 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