dbcve.org
IllustratorApplication · Adobe

CVE-2025-49529

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 28.7.8 / 29.6 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 28.7.6, 29.5.1 and earlier are affected by an Access of Uninitialized Pointer 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 an Access of Uninitialized Pointer vulnerability in versions 28.7.6, 29.5.1 and earlier. By convincing a user to open a specially crafted malicious file, an attacker can trigger the uninitialized pointer usage, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user.

MitigationUpdate Adobe Illustrator to the latest patched version beyond 29.5.1/28.7.6. Avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited files 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
IllustratorApplication
Affected:>= 28.0, < 28.7.8>= 29.0, < 29.6

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 Illustrator is installed
    On Windows, check C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator [Version]\Support Files\Contents\Windows\Adobe Illustrator [Version].exe or look in the Start Menu. On Mac, check /Applications/Adobe Illustrator [Version].app
    Affected if Adobe Illustrator is not installed on the system - if not installed, the CVE does not apply
  2. Determine the installed Adobe Illustrator version number
    Windows: Right-click the Adobe Illustrator executable, select Properties, and view the File Version on the Details tab. Mac: Right-click the Adobe Illustrator app, select Get Info, and view the Version field. Alternatively, open Illustrator and go to Help > About Adobe Illustrator to display the full version string.
    Affected if Unable to determine the version - if version cannot be confirmed, assume potentially affected
  3. Compare the installed version against vulnerable version ranges
    Compare the obtained version number to the affected ranges: 28.0 through 28.7.6 (inclusive) OR 29.0 through 29.5.1 (inclusive). Versions below 28.0 are not affected by this specific CVE. Versions 28.7.8 and above, or 29.6 and above, are patched.
    Affected if The installed version falls within >= 28.0 and < 28.7.8, OR >= 29.0 and < 29.6 - if either condition is true, the system is vulnerable to the uninitialized pointer flaw when opening malicious files

A system is affected if Adobe Illustrator is installed AND the installed version falls within the vulnerable ranges (28.0-28.7.6 or 29.0-29.5.1), meaning the uninitialized pointer vulnerability can be triggered by opening a specially crafted malicious file.

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 28.7.8 / 29.6 or later
Fixed in 28.7.829.6
Interim mitigation

Update Adobe Illustrator to the latest patched version beyond 29.5.1/28.7.6. Avoid opening untrusted or unsolicited files until the patch is applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Illustrator 28.7.8 or 29.6 (whichever is compatible with your subscription)

  1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or visit adobe.com/downloads
  2. Navigate to Adobe Illustrator in your installed applications
  3. Click 'Update' or 'Install' next to the latest available version
  4. Alternatively, manually download the fixed version from Adobe's official download page: helpx.adobe.com/illustrator
  5. Ensure Illustrator is closed during the update process
  6. After installation, verify the version by opening Illustrator and checking Help > About Illustrator
Caveat Security update only; no breaking changes expected for normal usage

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
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

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-2025-49529 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