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IndesignApplication · Adobe

CVE-2024-49512

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 18.5.4 / 20.0 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 ID18.5.3, ID19.5 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. 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

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability in Adobe InDesign allows disclosure of sensitive memory contents when a user opens a malicious file. This information leak can be leveraged to bypass ASLR mitigations, potentially facilitating further exploitation. User interaction (opening a crafted file) is required for exploitation.

MitigationApply the Adobe security update for InDesign (ID18.5.3, ID19.5 and earlier) when released, and educate users to avoid opening files from untrusted 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:< 18.5.4>= 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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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. Confirm Adobe InDesign is installed
    Locate InDesign application on the system (Windows: typically in Program Files/Adobe or via Start menu search; Mac: /Applications folder). If not present, the system is not affected.
    Affected if InDesign is installed on the system
  2. Identify the installed InDesign version number
    Open Adobe InDesign, then go to Help > About InDesign (Windows) or InDesign > About InDesign (Mac). The version number displayed in the about dialog is the installed version.
    Affected if The version number cannot be determined, but InDesign is present
  3. Compare version 18.x releases against the affected range
    For versions in the 18.x line (such as 18.0, 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 18.4, 18.5, 18.5.1, 18.5.2, 18.5.3): check if the version is earlier than 18.5.4. Versions 18.5.4 and later in the 18.x line are patched.
    Affected if Installed version is 18.x and is less than 18.5.4 (for example, 18.5, 18.5.1, 18.5.2, or 18.5.3)
  4. Compare version 19.x releases against the affected range
    For versions in the 19.x line: any version from 19.0 up to but not including 20.0 is affected. This includes 19.0, 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4, 19.5, and so on.
    Affected if Installed version is 19.0 or any 19.x version below 20.0

The system is affected if Adobe InDesign is installed AND the version is either 18.x before 18.5.4, or 19.x before 20.0. Versions 18.5.4 and above in the 18.x line, or 20.0 and above, are not affected by this vulnerability.

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 18.5.4 / 20.0 or later
Fixed in 18.5.420.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the Adobe security update for InDesign (ID18.5.3, ID19.5 and earlier) when released, and educate users to avoid opening files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

InDesign 18.5.4 (for 18.x branch) or InDesign 20.0 (for 19.x branch)

  1. 1. Open Adobe InDesign and navigate to Help > About InDesign to check the current installed version.
  2. 2. If running version 18.x (e.g., 18.5.3 or earlier), download and install InDesign version 18.5.4 from the official Adobe website.
  3. 3. If running version 19.x (e.g., 19.5 or earlier), download and install InDesign version 20.0 or later from the official Adobe website.
  4. 4. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About InDesign to confirm the patch was applied successfully.
  5. 5. Avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited InDesign files from unknown sources to mitigate risks associated with this vulnerability.
Caveat Standard minor version upgrades typically have minimal compatibility risks; however, test critical documents after upgrading to ensure workflow continuity

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

Fix this in Indesign Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
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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-2024-49512 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