CVE-2021-45053
📋 TL;DR
Adobe InCopy versions 16.4 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on a victim's system. This requires user interaction where someone opens a malicious file. Users of affected Adobe InCopy versions are at risk.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe InCopy
📦 What is this software?
Incopy by Adobe
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control of the victim's computer in the context of the current user's privileges.
Likely Case
Malicious actors could install malware, steal sensitive data, or use the compromised system as a foothold for further attacks within the network.
If Mitigated
With proper controls, the impact is limited to the user's privileges and isolated to the affected workstation.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file). No public exploit code has been disclosed.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 16.4.1 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/incopy/apsb22-04.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application. 2. Navigate to the 'Apps' section. 3. Find Adobe InCopy and click 'Update'. 4. Alternatively, download the latest version from Adobe's website. 5. Restart the application after installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable file opening from untrusted sources
allConfigure Adobe InCopy to only open files from trusted locations or disable automatic file opening.
Use application sandboxing
allRun Adobe InCopy in a sandboxed environment to limit potential damage from exploitation.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict user privileges to standard user accounts (not administrator)
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized code
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Adobe InCopy version: Open InCopy > Help > About InCopy. If version is 16.4 or earlier, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
Not applicable - check via application GUIVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 16.4.1 or later in Help > About InCopy menu.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual process creation from Adobe InCopy
- Memory access violations in application logs
- Unexpected file openings from InCopy process
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from InCopy to unknown IPs
- DNS requests to suspicious domains from InCopy process
SIEM Query:
Process Creation where Parent Process Name contains 'InCopy' AND (Command Line contains suspicious patterns OR Image contains unusual paths)