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IndesignApplication · Adobe

CVE-2024-49508

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.5.3 / 20.0 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 ID18.5.2, ID19.5 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

Adobe InDesign Desktop versions ID18.5.2, ID19.5 and earlier contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that can be triggered when a user opens a maliciously crafted file. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, requiring only that the victim open the specially crafted file.

MitigationUpdate InDesign to the latest patched version released by Adobe. Until patched, avoid opening InDesign files from untrusted or unknown 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, < 20.0

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 is installed
    On Windows, check for C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign* folder or use Programs and Features. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe InDesign.app
    Affected if InDesign is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed InDesign version number
    On Windows: Right-click the InDesign executable in Program Files > Adobe, select Properties, and view the Details tab for Product Version. On macOS: Right-click Adobe InDesign.app in Applications, select Get Info, and view the Version field under General
    Affected if A version number is returned from the application
  3. Compare against affected version range for ID18.x
    If the version starts with 18.x, check if it is earlier than 18.5.3 (for example, 18.5.2, 18.5.1, 18.5.0, 18.4, 18.3, etc.)
    Affected if Version is 18.x and less than 18.5.3
  4. Compare against affected version range for ID19.x
    If the version starts with 19.x, check if it is 19.5 or earlier (for example, 19.5, 19.4, 19.3, 19.2, 19.1, 19.0)
    Affected if Version is 19.x and less than 20.0 (19.0 through 19.5 are all affected)

A system is affected if Adobe InDesign Desktop is installed with version 18.x before 18.5.3, or version 19.0 through 19.5 (any 19.x version below 20.0).

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 / 20.0 or later
Fixed in 18.5.320.0
Interim mitigation

Update InDesign to the latest patched version released by Adobe. Until patched, avoid opening InDesign files from untrusted or unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe InDesign 20.0 (or latest available) for 19.x users; Adobe InDesign 18.5.3 for 18.x users

  1. 1. Close all Adobe InDesign instances
  2. 2. Open a web browser and navigate to the official Adobe InDesign download page at helpx.adobe.com or the Creative Cloud desktop application
  3. 3. Check your current InDesign version by opening InDesign and going to Help > About InDesign
  4. 4. If running version 18.5.2 or earlier (18.x branch), upgrade to version 18.5.3 or later
  5. 5. If running version 19.0 through 19.5 (19.x branch), upgrade to version 20.0 or later
  6. 6. Alternatively, use Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app to update InDesign to the latest version
  7. 7. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About InDesign to confirm the fix is applied
  8. 8. Exercise caution with untrusted InDesign files from unknown sources
Caveat Users on older 18.x versions may experience minor UI or workflow differences when upgrading to 18.5.3; major version jumps (18.x to 20.x) may require document compatibility checks

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

Fix this in Indesign Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $910
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,456.

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-2024-49508 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