dbcve.org
IndesignApplication · Adobe

CVE-2025-21126

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 19.5.2 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 ID20.0, ID19.5.1 and earlier are affected by an Improper Input Validation vulnerability that could result in an application denial-of-service condition. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause the application to crash, resulting in a denial of service. 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

Adobe InDesign Desktop versions 20.0, 19.5.1 and earlier contain an improper input validation vulnerability that can be triggered when a user opens a maliciously crafted file. The malformed input causes the application to crash, resulting in a denial-of-service condition. User interaction is required (opening the malicious file) for exploitation.

MitigationApply the vendor security update from Adobe when available. Users should avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InDesign (.indd) files from unknown sources until the patch is deployed.

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Identify installed InDesign version
    Open Adobe InDesign and go to Help > About InDesign (or on Windows, check Programs and Features > Adobe InDesign in Control Panel) to view the exact version number
    Affected if Version displays as 20.0, 19.5.1, or any version earlier than 19.5.2
  2. Confirm Windows installation path (if applicable)
    On Windows, locate InDesign installation under C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign [version]\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe InDesign [version]\
    Affected if The installed version matches the affected ranges listed above
  3. Verify macOS installation (if applicable)
    On macOS, right-click Adobe InDesign.app in Applications folder, select Get Info, and check the version under General information
    Affected if The displayed version is 20.0, 19.5.1, or any version earlier than 19.5.2
  4. Confirm vulnerability trigger condition
    This vulnerability is triggered when opening a maliciously crafted .indd file - the malformed input validation causes the application to crash
    Affected if You have an affected version AND you open untrusted or unexpected InDesign files from unknown or untrusted sources

You are affected if Adobe InDesign version is 20.0 or 19.5.1 or earlier (versions prior to 19.5.2), and you open maliciously crafted .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

Apply the vendor security update from Adobe when available. Users should avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InDesign (.indd) files from unknown sources until the patch is deployed.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

InDesign version 19.5.2 or later (for 19.x line); for InDesign 20.0 users, await the next 20.x security patch

  1. 1. Close Adobe InDesign if it is currently running.
  2. 2. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to helpx.adobe.com/inDesign/release-notes.html
  3. 3. Check for available updates to InDesign.
  4. 4. If updating through Creative Cloud, click the Update button for InDesign when available.
  5. 5. Alternatively, download InDesign version 19.5.2 or later from Adobe's official website.
  6. 6. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the update.
  7. 7. After installation, verify the version by opening InDesign and checking Help > About InDesign to confirm version 19.5.2 or higher is installed.
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically do not introduce breaking changes, but review Adobe's release notes for any compatibility notices

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

Fix this in Indesign Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2025-21126 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