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IndesignApplication · Adobe

CVE-2025-21123

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 19.5.2 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 ID20.0, ID19.5.1 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 · moderate confidence

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Adobe InDesign Desktop versions ID20.0, ID19.5.1 and earlier. When a victim opens a specially crafted malicious .indd file, the buffer overflow can be triggered, potentially allowing arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user.

MitigationUpdate InDesign to the latest patched version released by Adobe. Avoid opening .indd 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:< 19.5.2= 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 look in 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
    On Windows, right-click the InDesign executable in Program Files > Adobe > Adobe InDesign, select Properties > Details > Product Version. On macOS, right-click Adobe InDesign in Applications > Get Info > Version.
    Affected if Version shows as 20.0 or 19.5.1 or earlier (any version below 19.5.2)
  3. Check for .indd file associations
    On Windows, go to Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Choose defaults by file type and look for .indd. On macOS, right-click any .indd file > Get Info > Open with.
    Affected if InDesign is set as the default handler for .indd files
  4. Inspect recently opened .indd files
    Check the application recent files list within InDesign (File > Open Recent) or review downloaded .indd files in the Downloads folder and browser download history.
    Affected if There are .indd files opened from untrusted or unknown sources recently

The system is affected if Adobe InDesign is installed and the version is 20.0 or 19.5.1 or earlier (below 19.5.2), and the user opens malicious .indd 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 19.5.2 or later
Fixed in 19.5.2
Interim mitigation

Update InDesign to the latest patched version released by Adobe. Avoid opening .indd files from untrusted or unknown sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

InDesign 19.5.2 or later

  1. Back up any important InDesign documents and templates before upgrading
  2. Close all running Adobe applications including InDesign, Adobe Creative Cloud, and other Adobe services
  3. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to helpx.adobe.com to download the update
  4. Locate InDesign in the Creative Cloud apps list and click Update or Install for version 19.5.2
  5. Allow the update to download and install completely
  6. Restart your computer if prompted by the installer
  7. Launch InDesign and verify the version by going to Help > About InDesign to confirm version 19.5.2 is installed
Caveat Minor - Adobe typically maintains backward compatibility with previous file formats; always back up critical work before upgrading

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

Fix this in Indesign Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

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-2025-21123 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