CVE-2023-21597
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 versions 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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in Adobe InCopy versions 18.0 and earlier, and 17.4 and earlier. The vulnerability allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Successful exploitation requires the victim to open a specially crafted malicious 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>= 17.0, <= 17.4= 18.0CVSS 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 in the system - on Windows typically found in Program Files/Adobe, on macOS in Applications/Adobe. Use system inventory or package management tools to confirm presence.Affected if Adobe InCopy is installed on the system
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Determine the installed InCopy versionOpen Adobe InCopy and navigate to Help > About InCopy, or check the version through the application properties in the system control panel. The version number will be displayed (e.g., 17.0, 17.4, 18.0).Affected if The installed version is 17.0, 17.1, 17.2, 17.3, 17.4, or 18.0
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Compare version against affected rangesThe affected vulnerable versions are: 17.0 through 17.4 (all minor versions inclusive) and version 18.0 exactly. Any version within these ranges is vulnerable.Affected if The installed version falls within 17.0-17.4 or equals 18.0
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Assess file opening behaviorThe vulnerability requires a victim to open a specially crafted malicious file. Determine if users in the environment commonly open files from untrusted or unknown sources, especially .icml or InCopy-specific file formats.Affected if Users routinely open InCopy files from untrusted or unknown sources without verification
The environment is affected if Adobe InCopy versions 17.0 through 17.4 or version 18.0 are installed and users may open untrusted 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.
From vendor dataUpgrade Adobe InCopy to the latest patched version provided by Adobe. Users should avoid opening untrusted files until the patch is applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2023-21597 — 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-2023-21597 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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- 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