dbcve.org
FramemakerApplication · Adobe

CVE-2025-54229

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2020.9 / 2022.7 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
Adobe Framemaker versions 2020.8, 2022.6 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 · high confidence

Adobe Framemaker versions 2020.8, 2022.6 and earlier contain a Use After Free (UAF) memory corruption vulnerability. The flaw allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a specially crafted malicious file, as the freed memory can be reallocated and controlled by an attacker to achieve code execution in the context of the current user.

MitigationApply the vendor patch by updating Adobe Framemaker to the latest version. Until patched, users should avoid opening files from untrusted sources.

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
FramemakerApplication
Affected:< 2020.9>= 2022, < 2022.7

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. Find installed Adobe Framemaker version
    On Windows, open Control Panel > Programs and Features (or Settings > Apps > Apps & features) and locate Adobe Framemaker in the list. The version number is displayed in the Version column. Alternatively, launch Framemaker and go to Help > About Adobe Framemaker to see the exact version.
    Affected if The version shown is 2020.8 or earlier, or any version from 2022.0 through 2022.6 inclusive (meaning version is < 2020.9 OR version is >= 2022 but < 2022.7).
  2. Check Framemaker executable version
    Navigate to the Framemaker installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe FrameMaker 2020 or C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe FrameMaker 2022), right-click on FrameMaker.exe, select Properties, and view the Details tab showing the Product Version.
    Affected if The executable version matches one of the affected version ranges from step 1.
  3. Verify Framemaker is installed on the system
    Confirm Adobe Framemaker is installed by searching for it in the Windows Start menu or checking for the presence of Framemaker file types (.fm, .book) which indicate the application is present and potentially handling these files.
    Affected if Framemaker is installed and registered as a handler for its native file formats, making the vulnerability potentially exploitable if a user opens a malicious file.

A user is affected if their installed Adobe Framemaker version is either below 2020.9 or falls between 2022.0 and 2022.6 inclusive, and the application is present on the system.

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 2020.9 / 2022.7 or later
Fixed in 2020.92022.7
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch by updating Adobe Framemaker to the latest version. Until patched, users should avoid opening files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Adobe Framemaker 2020.9 or later for 2020.x branch; Adobe Framemaker 2022.7 or later for 2022.x branch

  1. 1. Close Adobe Framemaker if it is currently running.
  2. 2. Back up any important documents and custom configurations.
  3. 3. Download the latest version of Adobe Framemaker from the official Adobe website (helpx.adobe.com) or through the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application.
  4. 4. If upgrading from version 2020.8 or earlier, download and install Framemaker 2020.9 or later.
  5. 5. If upgrading from version 2022.x (2022.0-2022.6), download and install Framemaker 2022.7 or later.
  6. 6. Run the installer with administrator privileges.
  7. 7. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade.
  8. 8. After installation, verify the version by opening Framemaker and checking Help > About Adobe Framemaker.
Caveat Standard upgrade considerations apply - review Adobe's release notes for new features and any potential compatibility issues with existing workflows or plugins

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

Fix this in Framemaker Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,360
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,176.

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-2025-54229 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