CVE-2023-44342
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 ID18.5 (and earlier) and ID17.4.2 (and earlier) are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. 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 · moderate confidenceAdobe InDesign versions ID18.5 and earlier, and ID17.4.2 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability. When a victim opens a maliciously crafted InDesign file, the application reads memory beyond allocated boundaries, potentially exposing sensitive memory contents. This information disclosure can be leveraged to defeat ASLR, a critical memory protection mitigation.
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<= 17.4.2>= 18.0, < 18.5.1CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Locate installed InDesign versionOpen InDesign and go to Help > About InDesign (or on Mac, click the InDesign app name in the menu bar). Note the full version number displayed (e.g., 18.5, 17.4.2).Affected if Version is 18.5 or earlier, or version is 17.4.2 or earlier, or version is 18.0 through 18.5.0 (i.e., falls within <=17.4.2 or >=18.0 but <18.5.1)
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Verify version against safe releasesCompare your installed version number to the affected ranges. Safe versions are 18.5.1 and later, or any version between 17.4.3 and 17.x that may exist.Affected if Your installed version matches the <=17.4.2 or >=18.0 <18.5.1 pattern
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Assess file handling exposureDetermine whether InDesign is configured to open .indd files from untrusted or unknown sources, or if users routinely receive and open such files from external parties.Affected if Users routinely open .indd files from untrusted or unknown sources without verification
You are affected if your installed InDesign version is 17.4.2 or earlier, or 18.0 through 18.5.0, and you or your users open .indd files from untrusted sources.
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 · scoped18.5.1
Organizations should ensure InDesign is updated to the latest patched version once available from Adobe. Until then, users should be warned not to open untrusted or unexpected InDesign files, and email/gateway filtering should flag .indd and related file types from untrusted sources.
Adobe InDesign version 18.5.1 or later (or version 17.4.3 if available for the 17.x branch)
- Navigate to the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or visit helpx.adobe.com to download the latest version of Adobe InDesign
- Ensure you have a valid Adobe subscription that includes InDesign
- Before upgrading, back up any important InDesign files and preferences
- Run the Adobe Creative Cloud installer or download the standalone InDesign installer
- Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation of the fixed version
- Launch Adobe InDesign and verify the version number matches 18.5.1 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-44342 — 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-2023-44342 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