CVE-2026-27291
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 20.5.2, 21.2 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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Adobe InDesign Desktop versions 20.5.2, 21.2 and earlier allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a maliciously crafted INDD file, due to improper bounds checking during file parsing operations.
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< 20.5.3>= 21.0, < 21.3CVSS 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.
-
Identify installed InDesign versionOpen InDesign and navigate to Help > About InDesign (Windows) or InDesign > About InDesign (Mac) to display the full version numberAffected if Version shown is 20.5.2 or earlier, or any version between 21.0 and 21.2.x
-
Compare version to affected rangesCheck if your installed version falls below 20.5.3, or is in the 21.0 to 21.2 range. Versions 20.5.3+ and 21.3+ are patchedAffected if Installed version is less than 20.5.3 OR between 21.0 and 21.2.x inclusive
-
Assess exposure to untrusted INDD filesThis vulnerability requires opening a maliciously crafted INDD file. Review whether you or your users open InDesign files from untrusted or unknown sourcesAffected if Affected version installed AND routine handling of INDD files from untrusted or unexpected sources
User is affected if InDesign version is less than 20.5.3 or between 21.0 and 21.2.x AND they open INDD 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 · scoped20.5.321.3
Users should avoid opening untrusted or unexpected InDesign files and should update to the patched version released by Adobe.
InDesign 20.5.3 or later for 20.x branch; InDesign 21.3 or later for 21.x branch
- Check current InDesign version by opening the application and going to Help > About InDesign
- If running version 20.x: upgrade to version 20.5.3 or later
- If running version 21.x: upgrade to version 21.3 or later
- Download the updated version from Adobe's official website at helpx.adobe.com or use the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application to apply the update
- Close all InDesign instances before installing the update
- Install the security update and restart InDesign
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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 $1,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-27291 — 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-2026-27291 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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