CVE-2023-44347
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 a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability. An unauthenticated attacker could leverage this vulnerability to achieve an application denial-of-service 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 · moderate confidenceThis is a NULL Pointer Dereference vulnerability in Adobe InDesign. An unauthenticated attacker can craft a malicious InDesign file that, when opened by a victim, causes the application to crash due to dereferencing a NULL pointer, resulting in denial-of-service. The attack requires user interaction—the victim must open the 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<= 17.4.2>= 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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.
-
Identify installed InDesign version via UIOpen Adobe InDesign and navigate to Help > About Adobe InDesign to view the exact version number displayed in the dialogAffected if Version displayed is 17.4.2 or lower, or 18.0 through 18.5.0 inclusive
-
Check InDesign version via Creative Cloud appOpen the Creative Cloud desktop application, go to the Apps tab, find Adobe InDesign in the installed list, and note the version number shownAffected if Version shown is 17.4.2 or lower, or 18.0 through 18.5.0 inclusive
-
Verify version via file properties (Windows)Locate the InDesign executable (typically in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign 2023 or Adobe InDesign 2024), right-click the .exe file, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the product versionAffected if Product version is 17.4.2 or lower, or 18.0.x through 18.5.0
You are affected if Adobe InDesign is installed at version 17.4.2 or below, or at version 18.0 through 18.5.0.
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
Update Adobe InDesign to a version newer than ID18.5 and ID17.4.2. Additionally, train users to avoid opening InDesign files from untrusted or unknown sources.
Adobe InDesign 18.5.1 or later (or latest 17.x release above 17.4.2)
- 1. Back up all critical InDesign projects and preferences before upgrading
- 2. Close any running instances of Adobe InDesign
- 3. Navigate to the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or visit helpx.adobe.com
- 4. Locate Adobe InDesign in the applications list
- 5. Click Update or Install to upgrade to the latest version
- 6. Alternatively, download the fixed version (18.5.1 or later) directly from Adobe's official download page
- 7. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
- 8. After installation, verify the version number in InDesign via Help > About InDesign
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-44347 — 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-2023-44347 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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