IndesignApplication · Adobe

CVE-2024-39391

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.5.3 / 19.5 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 ID19.4, ID18.5.2 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds write 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

Adobe InDesign Desktop versions ID19.4, ID18.5.2 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a maliciously crafted InDesign file. The vulnerability executes in the context of the current user, requiring victim interaction to trigger.

MitigationAvoid opening InDesign files from untrusted sources; update to the latest patched version of InDesign as released by Adobe.

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, < 19.5

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. Verify Adobe InDesign installation
    Check for InDesign installation on Windows via registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\InDesign\ or on macOS via /Applications folder for Adobe InDesign.app
    Affected if Adobe InDesign is installed on the system
  2. Determine installed InDesign version
    On Windows, run 'wmic product where "name like 'Adobe InDesign%'" get version, name' or right-click InDesign.exe in the install directory and view Properties > Details. On macOS, right-click Adobe InDesign.app > Get Info to view version.
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or InDesign is not found
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Compare the installed version number to the affected ranges: versions before 18.5.3 OR versions 19.0 through 19.4.x
    Affected if Installed version is less than 18.5.3 OR is 19.0 through 19.4.x (19.4.x includes 19.0, 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4)
  4. Identify active InDesign file handlers
    Check file associations for .indd, .idml, and .inx files in Windows via Default Programs or on macOS via Get Info on these file types
    Affected if InDesign file types are associated with InDesign application - the vulnerability triggers when these file types are opened

User is affected if Adobe InDesign is installed with a version less than 18.5.3 or between 19.0 and 19.4.x inclusive, and the user opens untrusted InDesign files.

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 / 19.5 or later
Fixed in 18.5.319.5
Interim mitigation

Avoid opening InDesign files from untrusted sources; update to the latest patched version of InDesign as released by Adobe.

Recommended fix High confidence

InDesign 18.5.3 or later for 18.x line; InDesign 19.5 or later for 19.x line

  1. Close all running Adobe InDesign instances
  2. Open the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application
  3. Navigate to the 'Apps' or 'Products' section
  4. Locate Adobe InDesign in the list of installed applications
  5. Click the 'Update' button next to InDesign, or select 'Update Now' if an update is available
  6. Wait for the update to download and install completely
  7. Launch InDesign after the update to verify the new version is installed

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

Fix this in Indesign Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-39391 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-39391 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