Framemaker Publishing ServerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2023-44324

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2022 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 FrameMaker Publishing Server versions 2022 and earlier are affected by an Improper Authentication vulnerability that could result in a Security feature bypass. An unauthenticated attacker can abuse this vulnerability to access the API and leak default admin's password. Exploitation of this issue does not require user interaction.

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 FrameMaker Publishing Server versions 2022 and earlier contains an improper authentication vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to access the administration API and exfiltrate the default administrator's password, effectively bypassing authentication security controls.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of Adobe FrameMaker Publishing Server (2023 or later) and change the default administrator password immediately if not already done.

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
Framemaker Publishing ServerApplication
Affected:< 2022= 2022

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 the installed version of Adobe FrameMaker Publishing Server
    Locate the product version through the application itself, about dialog, or version information in the installation directory. Compare the version number against the affected range: versions 2022 and earlier are vulnerable.
    Affected if The installed version is 2022 or any version earlier than 2022 (e.g., 2021, 2020, etc.)
  2. Verify if the administration API is accessible over the network
    Check network exposure of the administration API endpoint. Determine if the server is listening on external interfaces or if firewall rules permit unauthorized access to admin ports.
    Affected if The administration API is reachable from untrusted networks or the server is exposed to the internet without proper network segmentation.
  3. Confirm whether the default administrator account is still in use
    Review the administrator account configuration in the FrameMaker Publishing Server admin panel or configuration files. Identify if the default administrator credentials have been changed from the factory default.
    Affected if The default administrator password remains unchanged from the initial installation settings.

You are affected if Adobe FrameMaker Publishing Server version 2022 or earlier is installed AND the administration API is network-accessible AND the default administrator password has not been changed.

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 2022 or later
Fixed in 2022
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of Adobe FrameMaker Publishing Server (2023 or later) and change the default administrator password immediately if not already done.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Adobe FrameMaker Publishing Server 2023 or later

  1. Navigate to the Adobe FrameMaker Publishing Server download page on helpx.adobe.com
  2. Locate and download the latest version of Adobe FrameMaker Publishing Server (2023 or later)
  3. Backup your current server configuration and data
  4. Install the updated version following Adobe's standard installation procedures
  5. Verify that the default admin credentials have been changed from factory defaults
  6. Confirm the API authentication mechanism is functioning correctly
Caveat Review release notes for any deprecated API features or configuration changes that may require updates to existing workflows

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

Fix this in Framemaker Publishing Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,968.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2023-44324 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