CVE-2025-54208
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 20.4, 19.5.4 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 20.4, 19.5.4 and earlier contain an out-of-bounds write vulnerability. An attacker can craft a malicious InDesign file that, when opened by a victim, triggers the vulnerability leading to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.
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< 19.5.5>= 20.0, < 20.5CVSS 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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Verify InDesign is installedCheck for Adobe InDesign installation - on Windows look in Program Files/Adobe or check registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\InDesign, on macOS check /Applications for InDesign.appAffected if InDesign is not installed on the system
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Determine installed InDesign versionOpen InDesign, go to Help > About InDesign to see the exact version number, or on Windows check the version in Add/Remove Programs, on macOS right-click InDesign.app and select Get InfoAffected if Unable to determine the version number
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Compare version against affected rangesCompare your installed version to: versions before 19.5.5 (such as 19.5.4 or earlier), or versions 20.0 through 20.4. Note: version 20.5 and later are not affected, version 19.5.5 and later are not affectedAffected if Installed version is less than 19.5.5 OR installed version is 20.0 through 20.4
If Adobe InDesign Desktop is installed and the version is either below 19.5.5 or between 20.0 and 20.4 inclusive, the environment is vulnerable to this out-of-bounds write flaw when opening malicious InDesign files.
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 · scoped19.5.520.5
Update InDesign to the latest patched version as released by Adobe. Until patched, warn users not to open InDesign files from untrusted sources.
InDesign version 19.5.5 or 20.5 (or subsequent releases)
- 1. Close Adobe InDesign if it is currently running
- 2. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or navigate to helpx.adobe.com/installer
- 3. Locate Adobe InDesign in your installed applications
- 4. Click Update to install the latest version, OR manually download the update from helpx.adobe.com
- 5. Verify the installed version is 19.5.5 or 20.5 or higher via Help > About InDesign
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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 locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-54208 — 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-2025-54208 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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- 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