CVE-2026-34628
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 · uneditedInDesign Desktop versions 20.5.2, 21.2 and earlier are affected by a Heap-based Buffer Overflow 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 Desktop versions 20.5.2, 21.2 and earlier contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that can be triggered when a user opens a specially crafted malicious file, leading to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.
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< 20.5.3>= 21.0, < 21.3CVSS 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 InDesign installation pathOn Windows, check C:\Program Files\Adobe\ for Adobe InDesign folders. On Mac, check /Applications/ for Adobe InDesign.app. Note the installed version folder names (e.g., 'Adobe InDesign 2024' or 'Adobe InDesign 2025').Affected if If Adobe InDesign is present in standard application directories
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Determine installed InDesign version numberOn Windows: Right-click InDesign.exe in the installation folder, select Properties, view the Details tab for Product Version. On Mac: Right-click Adobe InDesign.app, select Get Info, read the Version field.Affected if Version displays as 20.5.2 or earlier in the 20.x series, OR displays as 21.0, 21.1, or 21.2 in the 21.x series
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Check all InDesign installationsIf multiple versions are installed (common with Adobe CC), check each InDesign.exe or InDesign.app individually using the method above.Affected if Any installed instance is version 20.5.2 or earlier, or between 21.0 and 21.2 inclusive
You are affected if any installed Adobe InDesign version is below 20.5.3 (for 20.x releases) or falls within 21.0 through 21.2 (for 21.x releases).
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 · scoped20.5.321.3
Update InDesign to a patched version beyond 21.2 and avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InDesign files from unknown sources.
InDesign 20.5.3 or later, or InDesign 21.3 or later
- 1. Close any running instances of Adobe InDesign
- 2. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to adobe.com
- 3. Go to the InDesign product page or open the Creative Cloud apps panel
- 4. Check for available updates - the update should include the security fix
- 5. If automatic updates are enabled, InDesign will prompt you to update; otherwise, click the Update button
- 6. Wait for the update to download and install completely
- 7. Verify the installed version by opening InDesign and going to Help > About InDesign
- 8. Confirm the version number is 20.5.3 or later, OR 21.3 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2026-34628 — 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-2026-34628 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