dbcve.org
IncopyApplication · Adobe

CVE-2025-54223

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 19.5.5 / 20.5 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
InCopy versions 20.4, 19.5.4 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 · moderate confidence

A Use After Free vulnerability in Adobe InCopy allows arbitrary code execution. The flaw occurs when the application attempts to access memory that has already been freed, potentially enabling an attacker to execute malicious code with the privileges of the current user.

MitigationAvoid opening untrusted or unexpected InCopy files. Update to a patched version of InCopy when released by Adobe.

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
IncopyApplication
Affected:< 19.5.5>= 20.0, < 20.5

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 InCopy is installed
    Check for InCopy installation: On Windows, look in Program Files/Adobe or use Add/Remove Programs. On macOS, check /Applications for Adobe InCopy.
    Affected if InCopy is not installed on the system
  2. Determine the installed InCopy version
    Windows: Right-click the InCopy shortcut, select Properties, and check the Details tab for Version. Or open InCopy, go to Help > About Adobe InCopy. macOS: Right-click InCopy in Applications, select Get Info, or open InCopy and go to Adobe InCopy > About Adobe InCopy.
    Affected if The version displayed cannot be compared to the affected ranges
  3. Compare installed version against vulnerable ranges
    The affected version ranges are: versions prior to 19.5.5, AND versions from 20.0 up to but not including 20.5. If your version falls into either of these ranges, your installation is vulnerable.
    Affected if Installed version is < 19.5.5 OR (installed version >= 20.0 AND installed version < 20.5)
  4. Assess exposure to untrusted files
    Consider whether InCopy is used to open files from untrusted or unknown sources. The Use After Free flaw triggers when opening a specially crafted malicious InCopy file.
    Affected if Users routinely open InCopy files from untrusted or unexpected sources

You are affected if Adobe InCopy is installed AND the installed version falls within the vulnerable ranges (< 19.5.5 or >= 20.0 to < 20.5) AND users open files with the application.

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 19.5.5 / 20.5 or later
Fixed in 19.5.520.5
Interim mitigation

Avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InCopy files. Update to a patched version of InCopy when released by Adobe.

Recommended fix High confidence

InCopy 19.5.5 for 19.x line; InCopy 20.5 or later for 20.x line

  1. 1. Close any running instances of Adobe InCopy
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Adobe downloads page at helpx.adobe.com
  3. 3. Download InCopy version 19.5.5 (if using 19.x line) or version 20.5 or later (if using 20.x line)
  4. 4. Run the installer and follow the prompts to complete the upgrade
  5. 5. Restart your computer after installation completes
  6. 6. Launch InCopy to verify the update was successful

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

Fix this in Incopy Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

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-2025-54223 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