CVE-2024-49541
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 · uneditedIllustrator versions 29.0.0, 28.7.2 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 · moderate confidenceAdobe Illustrator contains an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that allows reading memory beyond allocated buffer boundaries. This can expose sensitive memory contents and potentially bypass ASLR security mitigations. Exploitation requires a victim to open a specially crafted malicious file.
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< 28.7.3= 29.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate Adobe Illustrator installationSearch for Adobe Illustrator application in standard installation directories: On Windows, check Program Files and Program Files (x86) for folders named 'Adobe Illustrator'. On macOS, check the /Applications folder for 'Adobe Illustrator'. Alternatively, use system search to find the installed application.Affected if Adobe Illustrator is not found on the system, then this CVE does not apply
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Determine installed version numberOpen Adobe Illustrator and navigate to Help > About Adobe Illustrator to display the exact version number. Alternatively, on Windows right-click the executable and select Properties > Details to view the File Version. On macOS, right-click the app, select Get Info, and check the Version field.Affected if Version cannot be determined - treat as potentially affected
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Compare version against affected rangesCheck if the installed version falls into either of these ranges: any version lower than 28.7.3, OR exactly version 29.0. Only versions 28.7.3 and later (excluding 29.0) are patched.Affected if Installed version is less than 28.7.3 OR installed version equals exactly 29.0
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Assess user exposure to malicious filesDetermine if the system user profile typically opens AI, EPS, PDF, or other Adobe Illustrator file types from external or untrusted sources. The vulnerability is triggered only when a victim opens a specially crafted malicious file.Affected if User opens Illustrator files from untrusted sources - this is the attack vector required for exploitation
A user is affected if Adobe Illustrator version is installed that is less than 28.7.3 or exactly 29.0 AND the user opens files from untrusted sources, enabling the specially crafted malicious file to trigger the out-of-bounds read.
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 · scoped28.7.3
Update Adobe Illustrator to the latest patched version to remediate this vulnerability. Additionally, educate users to avoid opening files from untrusted sources.
Adobe Illustrator 28.7.3 or later (or any version newer than 29.0 that includes the security fix)
- 1. Verify current Adobe Illustrator version by opening the application and navigating to Help > About Adobe Illustrator
- 2. Close Adobe Illustrator completely before updating
- 3. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application
- 4. Navigate to the Apps section and find Adobe Illustrator in the installed applications list
- 5. Click the Update button next to Adobe Illustrator if an update is available
- 6. Alternatively, download the latest version from helpx.adobe.com/illustrator
- 7. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the update
- 8. Restart Adobe Illustrator after the update completes
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-49541 — 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-2024-49541 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data