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IndesignApplication · Adobe

CVE-2025-43589

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 19.5.4 / 20.3 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
InDesign Desktop versions ID20.2, ID19.5.3 and earlier are affected by a Use After Free 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 InDesign Desktop versions ID20.2, ID19.5.3 and earlier contain a Use After Free (UAF) memory corruption vulnerability. When a user opens a specially crafted malicious file, the vulnerability allows an attacker to freed memory to be accessed, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution at the current user's privilege level.

MitigationUpdate InDesign to the latest patched version released by Adobe to address this vulnerability. Avoid opening untrusted InDesign files from unknown sources until the patch is applied.

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:< 19.5.4>= 20.0, < 20.3

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. Locate InDesign installation directory
    On Windows, check C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign [Version] or C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Adobe InDesign [Version]. On Mac, check /Applications/Adobe InDesign [Version]. The version folder name typically contains the version number (e.g., ID20.0, ID19.5).
    Affected if InDesign is installed in a standard location and the folder name contains the version number.
  2. Identify installed InDesign version number
    Right-click the InDesign.exe (Windows) or Get Info on Adobe InDesign.app (Mac), then view the Details tab or Version field to see the exact build number (e.g., 20.2.0.77 or 19.5.3.60).
    Affected if The version displayed is ID20.2, ID19.5.3, or any version number lower than these.
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Check if your installed version falls into these affected ranges: any version before 19.5.4 (such as 19.5.3, 19.5.2, 19.4, etc.) OR any version from 20.0 up to but not including 20.3 (such as 20.0, 20.1, 20.2). Versions 19.5.4 and above, or 20.3 and above, are not affected.
    Affected if Your installed version is < 19.5.4 OR is >= 20.0 but < 20.3.
  4. Assess file opening behavior
    The vulnerability triggers when InDesign opens a specially crafted malicious .indd, .idml, or other InDesign file. Determine if users in your environment open InDesign files from untrusted or unknown sources, as this is required for exploitation.
    Affected if Users routinely open InDesign files from email attachments, downloads, or external sources without verification.

You are affected if your installed InDesign version is below 19.5.4 or between 20.0 and 20.2, and users may open untrusted InDesign 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 19.5.4 / 20.3 or later
Fixed in 19.5.420.3
Interim mitigation

Update InDesign to the latest patched version released by Adobe to address this vulnerability. Avoid opening untrusted InDesign files from unknown sources until the patch is applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

InDesign 19.5.4 or later for 19.x releases; InDesign 20.3 or later for 20.x releases

  1. 1. Close Adobe InDesign if it is currently running
  2. 2. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to the Adobe InDesign download page
  3. 3. Check your current InDesign version by opening InDesign and going to Help > About InDesign
  4. 4. If running version 19.x (< 19.5.4): Update to version 19.5.4 or later
  5. 5. If running version 20.x (>= 20.0 and < 20.3): Update to version 20.3 or later
  6. 6. Alternatively, download the specific installer from helpx.adobe.com by searching for the InDesign security update
  7. 7. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  8. 8. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About InDesign to confirm the patch was applied
Caveat Standard upgrade; ensure system meets minimum requirements for the new version

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

Fix this in Indesign Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-2025-43589 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