CVE-2025-54209
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 a Heap-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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe InDesign Desktop when parsing malicious files. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation requires user interaction—victim must open a specially crafted malicious InDesign 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< 19.5.5>= 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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Identify installed Adobe InDesign versionOpen Adobe InDesign and go to Help > About InDesign, or view the installed version in Control Panel > Programs and Features on Windows or Applications folder on macOSAffected if Version number is displayed and falls within vulnerable ranges
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Compare version against affected rangesCompare your installed version number to the vulnerable ranges: any version below 19.5.5, or any version from 20.0 through 20.4.xAffected if Your version is < 19.5.5 OR >= 20.0 and < 20.5
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Assess file opening habitsReview whether you open .indd files from email attachments, downloads, or other untrusted sourcesAffected if You open .indd files from untrusted or unknown sources without verification
You are affected if your Adobe InDesign version is below 19.5.5 or between 20.0 and 20.4.x, and you open .indd 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 · scoped19.5.520.5
Apply vendor security patches for InDesign (20.5 or later, 19.5.5 or later) when released. Until then, avoid opening untrusted .indd files and disable file preview in email clients to reduce attack surface.
InDesign 19.5.5 (for 19.x line) or InDesign 20.5 or later (for 20.x line)
- 1. Launch Adobe InDesign on your system
- 2. Navigate to Help > Check for Updates (or use the Creative Cloud desktop app)
- 3. If updates are available, download and install the latest version
- 4. Alternatively, manually download the fixed version from helpx.adobe.com
- 5. Restart InDesign after installation
- 6. Verify the installed version by going to Help > About InDesign
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-54209 — 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-2025-54209 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