CVE-2023-29308
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 ID18.3 (and earlier) and ID17.4.1 (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 confidenceAdobe InDesign versions ID18.3 and earlier and ID17.4.1 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a maliciously crafted file. The vulnerability exists in the application's handling of file parsing operations.
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, < 17.4.2>= 18.0, < 18.4CVSS 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 Adobe InDesign and navigate to Help > About InDesign (Windows) or InDesign > About InDesign (Mac). Alternatively, right-click the InDesign executable file, select Properties, and view the Product Version field in the Details tab.Affected if Version is visible and can be compared against the affected ranges
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Compare version against affected range 17.xIf the installed version starts with 17 (such as 17.0, 17.1, 17.2, 17.3, 17.4, or 17.4.1), check if it is less than 17.4.2. Versions 17.0 through 17.4.1 are affected.Affected if Installed version is 17.0 or higher but lower than 17.4.2
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Compare version against affected range 18.xIf the installed version starts with 18 (such as 18.0, 18.1, 18.2, or 18.3), check if it is lower than 18.4. Versions 18.0 through 18.3 are affected.Affected if Installed version is 18.0 or higher but lower than 18.4
A system is affected if Adobe InDesign version is 17.0-17.4.1 or 18.0-18.3 and the application is used to open files, since the vulnerability is triggered during file parsing operations.
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 · scoped17.4.218.4
Update Adobe InDesign to the latest patched version. Until patched, avoid opening files from untrusted sources.
InDesign 17.4.2 or 18.4 (depending on your major version line)
- Close Adobe InDesign if it is currently running
- Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to helpx.adobe.com
- Check for available updates for Adobe InDesign
- Download and install InDesign version 17.4.2 (for version 17.x users) or version 18.4 (for version 18.x users)
- Restart Adobe InDesign after the update completes
- Verify the installed version by going to Help > About Adobe InDesign
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 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-2023-29308 — 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-2023-29308 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