Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability can let a malicious BMP image file run code through Adobe InDesign when opened by a user. The impact is serious because code would run with the current user's permissions, but exploitation depends on user interaction rather than direct remote reachability.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for design, marketing, publishing, and client-facing teams that regularly receive external image assets. The issue is high impact but requires user interaction, so urgency depends on how often affected users open untrusted files.
Technical view
CVE-2021-39822 is a CWE-787 out-of-bounds write in Adobe InDesign BMP parsing. The listed affected range is InDesign 16.3 and earlier, and 16.3.1 and earlier. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8 with local attack vector, no privileges required, and required user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on workstations where Adobe InDesign in the affected version ranges is installed and users open BMP files from clients, partners, email, downloads, or shared asset repositories.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires persuading a victim to open a malicious BMP file in affected InDesign versions.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description, CVSS data, CWE classification, KEV false status, and Adobe advisory reference. Do not assume broader Adobe products, exploit availability, or a specific fixed version from this bundle alone.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Adobe InDesign installations and identify versions in the affected ranges.
- Review Adobe APSB21-73 for vendor-approved update or remediation guidance.
- Limit opening BMP files from untrusted sources until remediated.
- Use endpoint controls to reduce exposure to suspicious downloaded image files.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed Adobe InDesign versions across managed endpoints.
- Check whether affected systems can still open externally sourced BMP files in InDesign.
- Verify remediation against Adobe APSB21-73 after updates or configuration changes.
- Review email, download, and file-sharing controls for BMP attachment handling.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-787: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-39822 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb21-73.htmlCVE reference · vendor-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Out-of-bounds Write
Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.