CVE-2025-30321
📋 TL;DR
Adobe InDesign has a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability that allows attackers to cause application crashes via malicious files. Users must open a specially crafted file to trigger the denial-of-service condition. This affects InDesign Desktop versions ID20.2, ID19.5.3 and earlier.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe InDesign Desktop
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete application crash leading to denial-of-service, potential data loss if unsaved work is open, and disruption to publishing workflows.
Likely Case
Temporary application crash requiring restart, minor productivity disruption for affected users.
If Mitigated
No impact if users avoid opening untrusted files and patches are applied.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user to open malicious file. Simple file-based attack vector.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: ID20.2.1 and ID19.5.4 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb25-53.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application. 2. Navigate to Updates section. 3. Install InDesign update to version ID20.2.1 or ID19.5.4+. 4. Restart InDesign after installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict file opening
allConfigure InDesign to only open trusted files from known sources
Application sandboxing
allRun InDesign in restricted/sandboxed environment to limit impact
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict file handling policies: only open files from trusted sources
- Use application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized InDesign execution
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check InDesign version via Help > About InDesign. If version is ID20.2 or earlier, or ID19.5.3 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check via Creative Cloud app or InDesign Help menu. On macOS: InDesign > About InDesign.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is ID20.2.1 or later, or ID19.5.4 or later. Test with known safe files to ensure normal operation.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crash logs from InDesign
- Unexpected termination events in system logs
- Error logs mentioning NULL pointer or access violation
Network Indicators:
- Unusual file downloads preceding crashes
- Email attachments with InDesign file extensions
SIEM Query:
EventID=1000 OR EventID=1001 AND ProcessName="InDesign.exe" AND (ExceptionCode=0xc0000005 OR ExceptionCode=0x00000000)