CVE-2020-9729
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA memory corruption vulnerability exists in InDesign 15.1.1 (and earlier versions). Insecure handling of a malicious indd file could be abused to cause an out-of-bounds memory access, potentially resulting in code execution in the context of the current user.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA memory corruption vulnerability in Adobe InDesign versions 15.1.1 and earlier allows attackers to trigger an out-of-bounds memory access via specially crafted .indd files, potentially achieving code execution in the context of the current user.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 15.1.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed InDesign versionOpen Adobe InDesign, go to Help > About InDesign, or check the version in the Creative Cloud desktop app under the Installed Apps sectionAffected if Version displayed is 15.1.1 or earlier (any version up to and including 15.1.1)
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Verify Windows installation path and executableNavigate to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign [Version]\ID.exe and confirm the folder version number matches the affected rangeAffected if The folder version number is 15.1.1 or lower
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Verify macOS installation path and executableNavigate to /Applications/Adobe InDesign [Version]/Adobe InDesign.app and confirm the folder version number matches the affected rangeAffected if The folder version number is 15.1.1 or lower
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Confirm .indd file handling is enabledCheck that InDesign is set as the default handler for .indd files by right-clicking any .indd file in File Explorer/Finder and selecting Properties > Opens with, or by opening the file to launch InDesignAffected if InDesign is associated with .indd files and can be launched by opening them
If InDesign version is 15.1.1 or earlier and the application handles .indd files, the environment is within the affected range for this vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpdate InDesign to the patched version (15.1.2 or later). Implement file-type restrictions and user training to avoid opening .indd files from untrusted sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-9729 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-9729 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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