Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-45057 is a high-severity Adobe InDesign flaw. If a user opens a malicious JPEG2000 file, InDesign 16.4 or earlier could be forced to run attacker-controlled code with that user’s permissions.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority endpoint remediation issue for design and publishing teams. Business urgency depends on how often users open external image assets and whether InDesign is still at 16.4 or earlier.
Technical view
The vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write in Adobe InDesign JPEG2000 parsing, mapped to CWE-787. CVSS 3.0 is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, and required user interaction. Impact is high for confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on workstations running Adobe InDesign 16.4 or earlier, especially where users receive or open externally supplied JPEG2000 files. This is not described as a remotely reachable server flaw.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires user interaction: the victim must open a malicious JPEG2000 file. Successful exploitation could execute code as the current user.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description, CVSS vector, CWE classification, and Adobe advisory reference. The bundle does not provide exploit proof, exact fixed version details, or detection indicators.
Mitigation direction
- Identify Adobe InDesign installations at version 16.4 or earlier.
- Review Adobe APSB22-05 and apply vendor-directed updates or mitigations.
- Avoid opening untrusted JPEG2000 files until vendor guidance is applied.
- Prioritize systems used to process externally supplied design assets.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed Adobe InDesign versions across managed endpoints.
- Confirm whether exposed systems are version 16.4 or earlier.
- Check endpoint controls for handling of untrusted JPEG2000 files.
- Verify remediation status against Adobe APSB22-05 guidance.
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-2021-45057 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 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/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:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.0/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/apsb22-05.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.