Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a document-opening risk in Adobe InDesign. A malicious file could make InDesign read memory it should not and expose sensitive memory, potentially weakening ASLR protections. It requires a user to open the file, so prioritize systems handling external design files, marketing assets, or customer submissions.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority workstation patching issue. Business urgency is higher for creative, marketing, publishing, or intake teams that routinely open external design files.
Technical view
CVE-2023-29311 is a CWE-125 out-of-bounds read in Adobe InDesign ID18.3 and earlier, and ID17.4.1 and earlier. CVSS 3.1 is 5.5, with local attack vector, no privileges, required user interaction, and high confidentiality impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on workstations with affected Adobe InDesign versions, especially users who receive or open untrusted InDesign files from outside the organization.
Exploitation context
The provided sources state exploitation requires a victim to open a malicious file. The CVE is not listed as KEV in the bundle, and no cited source here confirms active exploitation.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports memory disclosure and possible ASLR mitigation bypass, not code execution by itself. The bundle does not provide exploit details, active exploitation evidence, or exact fixed version numbers.
Mitigation direction
- Check Adobe APSB23-38 for the vendor-designated fixed InDesign versions.
- Update affected InDesign installations following Adobe guidance.
- Limit opening InDesign files from untrusted sources.
- Route external design files through established malware scanning workflows.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed Adobe InDesign versions across managed endpoints.
- Flag ID18.3 and earlier, and ID17.4.1 and earlier, as affected.
- Confirm Adobe updates were successfully applied on exposed workstations.
- Review whether high-risk users receive external InDesign files.
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
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CWE-125: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-29311 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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:N/A:N1.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb23-38.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 Read
Out-of-bounds Read represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.