CVE-2025-43594
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 · uneditedInDesign Desktop versions 19.5.3 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds write 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 confidenceAdobe InDesign Desktop versions 19.5.3 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Successful 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< 19.5.4>= 20.0, < 20.4CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check InDesign version in the applicationOpen InDesign, go to Help > About InDesign (or press Ctrl+Alt+I on Windows / Cmd+Opt+I on Mac) to display the full version numberAffected if Version shown is 19.5.3 or earlier, OR between 20.0 and 20.3.x
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Verify the specific minor version buildNote the complete version string (for example, 19.5.3.123) - the About dialog shows both the major.minor and the full build numberAffected if The version is any release prior to 19.5.4, or any 20.x release prior to 20.4
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Confirm if you open files from external sourcesReflect on whether you or users in your environment open InDesign files (.indd, .idml, .inx) received via email, downloads, or from untrusted sourcesAffected if You regularly open files from untrusted or unknown sources - this is required for exploitation
You are affected if your installed InDesign version is 19.5.3 or earlier, or falls between 20.0 and 20.3.x, and you open files from untrusted sources.
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 · scoped19.5.420.4
Update InDesign to the patched version (19.6 or later). Users should avoid opening files from untrusted sources.
InDesign 19.5.4 or later, or InDesign 20.4 or later (depending on your release track)
- Navigate to the official Adobe InDesign download page at helpx.adobe.com or the Creative Cloud desktop application
- Locate InDesign in your installed Adobe applications
- Check the current version by going to Help > About InDesign
- If running version 19.x (19.5.3 or earlier), update to version 19.5.4 or later
- If running version 20.x (20.0 through 20.3), update to version 20.4 or later
- Restart InDesign after the update completes
- Verify the installed version shows 19.5.4+ or 20.4+ via Help > About InDesign
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-43594 — 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-2025-43594 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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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.
- 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