CVE-2022-30657 is a Use-After-Free (CWE-416) vulnerability affecting Adobe InCopy versions 17.2 and earlier, as well as 16.4.1 and earlier. This type of vulnerability occurs when a program continues to use a pointer after the memory it points to has been freed, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution. In this case, exploitation requires user interaction, specifically the opening of a maliciously crafted file by the victim within Adobe InCopy. Successful exploitation allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the current user, which could lead to unauthorized actions such as data manipulation, installation of malware, or further compromise of the affected system. The vulnerability does not require elevated privileges or prior authentication, but it depends on social engineering to convince the user to open a malicious file. There are no known exploits in the wild as of the published date, and no official patches or updates have been linked in the provided information. The vulnerability is classified as medium severity by the vendor, reflecting the balance between the potential impact and the requirement for user interaction.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-30657 could be significant in environments where Adobe InCopy is widely used, particularly in publishing, media, marketing, and creative industries. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized code execution, potentially resulting in data breaches, intellectual property theft, or disruption of content creation workflows. Since the vulnerability allows code execution with user-level privileges, attackers could leverage it as an initial foothold for lateral movement or privilege escalation within corporate networks. The requirement for user interaction reduces the risk of widespread automated exploitation but does not eliminate targeted attacks, especially spear-phishing campaigns delivering malicious InCopy files. Organizations handling sensitive or proprietary content are at higher risk. Additionally, compromised systems could be used as a pivot point to attack other network resources, impacting confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical information assets.

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, European organizations should: 1) Immediately identify and inventory all Adobe InCopy installations, focusing on versions 17.2 and earlier and 16.4.1 and earlier. 2) Apply the latest security updates from Adobe as soon as they become available, even though no patch links are currently provided, monitoring Adobe security advisories closely. 3) Implement strict email and file filtering policies to block or quarantine suspicious or unexpected InCopy files, especially from external or untrusted sources. 4) Educate users about the risks of opening unsolicited or unexpected files, emphasizing the specific threat posed by malicious InCopy documents. 5) Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of detecting anomalous behaviors indicative of exploitation attempts, such as unusual memory access patterns or process injections. 6) Use application whitelisting and sandboxing techniques to limit the execution context of Adobe InCopy and reduce the impact of potential exploitation. 7) Regularly back up critical data and ensure backups are isolated from the main network to enable recovery in case of compromise.