CVE-2026-48293
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 21.3, 20.5.3 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 confidenceOut-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe InDesign Desktop allows arbitrary code execution via a malicious .indd file. User interaction is required (opening the file) making this a file-based attack vector.
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< 20.5.4>= 21.0, < 21.4CVSS 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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Check if Adobe InDesign is installedOn Windows, check for InDesign in Program Files or look in the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\InDesign. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe InDesign.app.Affected if InDesign is not installed on the system, the user is not affected.
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Determine the installed InDesign version on WindowsOpen the Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\InDesign\Version. Read the (Default) or Version key value, which shows the installed version number (such as 21.3 or 20.5.3).Affected if The version is 21.3, 20.5.3, or any version in the ranges < 20.5.4 or >= 21.0 to < 21.4.
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Determine the installed InDesign version on macOSRight-click Adobe InDesign.app in /Applications, select Get Info, and read the Version field under the General section. Alternatively, launch InDesign and go to Help > About InDesign to see the version number.Affected if The version is 21.3, 20.5.3, or any version in the ranges < 20.5.4 or >= 21.0 to < 21.4.
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Verify the specific version number falls within affected rangesCompare the installed version number against the vulnerable ranges: version 20.x versions below 20.5.4, and version 21.x versions below 21.4 (including 21.0 through 21.3).Affected if The installed version is less than 20.5.4 OR is 21.0 through 21.3 (i.e., less than 21.4).
The user is affected if Adobe InDesign is installed and the version falls below 20.5.4 (for the 20.x branch) or is between 21.0 and 21.3 (for the 21.x branch).
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 · scoped20.5.421.4
Update InDesign to latest patched version; avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InDesign files from unverified sources.
InDesign 20.5.4 or later; InDesign 21.4 or later (depending on major version branch)
- Check current InDesign version by opening the application and going to Help > About InDesign
- If version is 20.5.3 or earlier, or between 21.0 and 21.3.x, download the patched version from Adobe's official website (helpx.adobe.com)
- For InDesign 20.x users: download and install version 20.5.4 or later
- For InDesign 21.x users: download and install version 21.4 or later
- Alternatively, open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app and update InDesign from the Apps tab
- Restart InDesign after installation to complete the update
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-2026-48293 — 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-2026-48293 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