dbcve.org
IllustratorApplication · Adobe

CVE-2025-27168

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 28.7.5 / 29.3 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
Illustrator versions 29.2.1, 28.7.4 and earlier are affected by a Stack-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 Illustrator contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability when parsing specially crafted files, allowing an attacker to overwrite stack memory and achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The vulnerability is triggered when a victim opens a malicious .ai or related file.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Illustrator to version 29.3 or later (for 29.x) and 28.7.5 or later (for 28.x). 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
IllustratorApplication
Affected:>= 28.0, < 28.7.5>= 29.0, < 29.3

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. Check installed Adobe Illustrator version on Windows
    Open Windows Settings > Apps > Apps & features, search for Adobe Illustrator, or right-click the desktop shortcut and select Properties to view the version. Alternatively, open Illustrator and go to Help > About Adobe Illustrator.
    Affected if Version is 28.0 through 28.7.4, or 29.0 through 29.2
  2. Check installed Adobe Illustrator version on macOS
    Open Finder > Applications, right-click Adobe Illustrator, select Get Info, or open Illustrator and go to Help > About Adobe Illustrator.
    Affected if Version is 28.0 through 28.7.4, or 29.0 through 29.2
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    If you obtained a version number, compare it to the affected ranges: 28.x versions from 28.0 up to and including 28.7.4 are affected; 29.x versions from 29.0 up to and including 29.2 are affected.
    Affected if Installed version falls within 28.0 to 28.7.4 or 29.0 to 29.2
  4. Verify file parsing is the trigger condition
    This vulnerability is triggered when Adobe Illustrator parses a specially crafted .ai or related file. No specific configuration toggle exists; the risk exists whenever the application opens files from external sources.
    Affected if User opens untrusted .ai files with a vulnerable version of Adobe Illustrator

A user is affected if their installed Adobe Illustrator version is 28.0-28.7.4 or 29.0-29.2 and they open malicious .ai 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 28.7.5 / 29.3 or later
Fixed in 28.7.529.3
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Illustrator to version 29.3 or later (for 29.x) and 28.7.5 or later (for 28.x). Avoid opening files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Illustrator 28.7.5 or later, or Illustrator 29.3 or later

  1. Close Adobe Illustrator if it is currently running
  2. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to helpx.adobe.com illustrator downloads
  3. Download Adobe Illustrator version 28.7.5 or later (for 28.x branch) OR version 29.3 or later (for 29.x branch)
  4. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the update
  5. After installation, launch Illustrator and verify the version by going to Help > About Illustrator to confirm the installed version is 28.7.5+ or 29.3+
Caveat Major version updates may affect compatibility with third-party plugins; ensure plugin compatibility before upgrading

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

Fix this in Illustrator Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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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-2025-27168 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