CVE-2025-43593
📋 TL;DR
Adobe InDesign has an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that allows arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious file. This affects users of InDesign Desktop versions ID20.2, ID19.5.3 and earlier. Attackers can gain the same privileges as the current user through crafted documents.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe InDesign Desktop
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control of the victim's computer, data theft, ransomware deployment, and lateral movement within the network.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation leading to data exfiltration, credential theft, and installation of persistent malware or backdoors.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with user account isolation, potential file corruption or application crash without code execution.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file). No public exploit code available at this time.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: ID20.2.1 and ID19.5.4
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 'Apps' tab. 3. Find InDesign and click 'Update'. 4. Alternatively, download patches directly from Adobe's security advisory page.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable InDesign file associations
windowsPrevent automatic opening of InDesign files by changing default file associations
Use application sandboxing
allRun InDesign in isolated environment using sandboxing tools
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict email filtering to block suspicious InDesign file attachments
- Educate users to never open InDesign files from untrusted sources
🔍 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 Add/Remove Programs for Adobe InDesign version. On macOS: Check Applications folder > Adobe InDesign > Get Info.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is ID20.2.1 or later, or ID19.5.4 or later after patching.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected InDesign crashes
- Suspicious child processes spawned from InDesign
- Unusual file access patterns from InDesign process
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from InDesign process to unknown IPs
- DNS requests for suspicious domains from InDesign
SIEM Query:
process_name:"InDesign.exe" AND (event_type:"process_creation" AND parent_process_name:"InDesign.exe")