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IndesignApplication · Adobe

CVE-2024-20781

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.5.3 / 19.4 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 · unedited
InDesign Desktop versions ID19.3, ID18.5.2 and earlier are affected by a Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

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 confidence

Heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe InDesign Desktop versions ID19.3, ID18.5.2 and earlier allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a maliciously crafted .indd file, executing in the context of the current user.

MitigationUpdate InDesign to the latest patched version and educate users to avoid opening untrusted files from unverified sources.

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
IndesignApplication
Affected:< 18.5.3>= 19.0, < 19.4

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate installed InDesign version
    Open InDesign, then go to Help > About Adobe InDesign. Alternatively, check the Windows Registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\InDesign\InstalledVersion or on macOS check /Applications/Adobe InDesign */Adobe InDesign *.app/Contents/Info.plist for CFBundleShortVersionString.
    Affected if Version displays as a release prior to 18.5.3 or between 19.0 and 19.3.x inclusive
  2. Compare version against affected ranges
    If version is 18.x, verify it is less than 18.5.3. If version is 19.x, verify it is less than 19.4. Any version matching these conditions falls within the affected range.
    Affected if Installed version is < 18.5.3 OR >= 19.0 AND < 19.4
  3. Verify .indd file handling capability
    Check if InDesign is configured to open .indd files by default. On Windows, verify file association in Default Programs or check HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.indd. On macOS, right-click any .indd file and select Get Info to see InDesign listed as the opener.
    Affected if InDesign is the default handler for .indd files and the installed version is vulnerable as determined above
  4. Confirm InDesign executable path
    Locate the InDesign executable. Typical paths: Windows: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign *\InDesign.exe; macOS: /Applications/Adobe InDesign */Adobe InDesign *.app/Contents/MacOS/InDesign. Right-click the executable, select Properties, and verify the File Version matches your detected vulnerable version.
    Affected if Executable version matches a vulnerable version from the affected ranges

If InDesign Desktop is installed with a version below 18.5.3 or between 19.0 and 19.3.x inclusive and is configured to open .indd files, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2024-20781 when a user opens a maliciously crafted .indd file.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 18.5.3 / 19.4 or later
Fixed in 18.5.319.4
Interim mitigation

Update InDesign to the latest patched version and educate users to avoid opening untrusted files from unverified sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

InDesign 18.5.3 or InDesign 19.4 (depending on which major version line you are using)

  1. Back up all InDesign documents and preferences before upgrading
  2. Launch Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to adobe.com/downloads
  3. Locate Adobe InDesign in the available updates
  4. Download and install InDesign version 18.5.3 (for 18.x line users) or version 19.4 (for 19.x line users)
  5. Restart the application after installation completes
  6. Verify the installed version by going to Help > About InDesign
Caveat Minor release upgrades typically preserve user settings and documents; however, always maintain backups before updating

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Indesign Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-20781 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data