CVE-2024-41851
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 · uneditedInDesign Desktop versions ID19.4, ID18.5.2 and earlier are affected by an Integer Overflow or Wraparound 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 confidenceAdobe InDesign Desktop versions ID19.4, ID18.5.2 and earlier contain an integer overflow vulnerability that can be triggered when a user opens a maliciously crafted InDesign file. This memory corruption can be leveraged to achieve arbitrary code execution within the context of the current user session.
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< 18.5.3>= 19.0, < 19.5CVSS 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 version on WindowsOpen InDesign, go to Help > About InDesign. Alternatively, check the Windows Registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\InDesign\(version)\InstallPath or check the file version of ID.exe in the installation folder (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign [version]\ID.exe)Affected if The version displayed is earlier than 18.5.3, or is 19.0 through 19.4.x
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Check installed InDesign version on macOSOpen InDesign, go to InDesign menu > About InDesign. Alternatively, right-click the Adobe InDesign app in Applications folder, select Get Info, and check the version under the Name & Version sectionAffected if The version displayed is earlier than 18.5.3, or is 19.0 through 19.4.x
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Identify InDesign via Adobe Creative CloudOpen Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app, navigate to the Apps or Products section, find InDesign in the installed software list, and note the version number shownAffected if The listed version is earlier than 18.5.3, or is 19.0 through 19.4.x
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Confirm the file parsing feature is reachableThis vulnerability triggers when opening a crafted InDesign file. Verify that the InDesign application can open .indd files from the local system or received files - no special configuration is required for the vulnerability to trigger if the file is openedAffected if InDesign can open .indd files and the installed version falls within the affected range
You are affected if your installed Adobe InDesign version is 18.x before 18.5.3, or 19.0 through 19.4.x (19.5 and later are patched).
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.
dbcve · scoped18.5.319.5
Update InDesign to the vendor-patched version. Avoid opening InDesign files from untrusted or unknown sources until the update is applied.
InDesign 18.5.3 or later; InDesign 19.5 or later (depending on your current major version)
- 1. Identify the currently installed InDesign version by opening InDesign and navigating to Help > About InDesign
- 2. For InDesign version 18.x (e.g., 18.0 through 18.5.2): Download and install InDesign version 18.5.3 or later from the Adobe website
- 3. For InDesign version 19.x (e.g., 19.0 through 19.4): Download and install InDesign version 19.5 or later from the Adobe website
- 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking Help > About InDesign to confirm the version number matches the expected fixed release
- 5. Ensure Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application is updated to the latest version to receive future security patches
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-41851 — 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-2024-41851 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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