CVE-2025-49524
📋 TL;DR
Adobe Illustrator versions 28.7.6, 29.5.1 and earlier contain a NULL pointer dereference vulnerability that allows attackers to crash the application by tricking users into opening malicious files. This affects all users running vulnerable Illustrator versions, requiring user interaction through file opening to trigger the crash.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Illustrator
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete denial-of-service where Illustrator crashes when processing malicious files, disrupting design workflows and potentially causing data loss if unsaved work is open.
Likely Case
Temporary application crashes when users open specially crafted malicious files, requiring restart and potentially losing unsaved work.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper user education about opening untrusted files and application restart capability.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file). No authentication bypass needed beyond file access.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Update to Illustrator version 29.5.2 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb25-65.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application. 2. Navigate to 'Apps' tab. 3. Find Adobe Illustrator. 4. Click 'Update' button. 5. Wait for download and installation. 6. Restart Illustrator.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict file opening
allConfigure Illustrator to warn before opening files from untrusted sources or restrict file types
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Educate users to only open Illustrator files from trusted sources
- Implement application whitelisting to restrict Illustrator execution in high-risk environments
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Illustrator version via Help > About Illustrator. If version is 28.7.6, 29.5.1 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check Illustrator.exe properties. On macOS: Check Illustrator.app Info.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify Illustrator version is 29.5.2 or later after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crash logs from Illustrator
- Unexpected termination events in system logs
Network Indicators:
- None - local file-based exploit
SIEM Query:
EventID=1000 OR EventID=1001 AND ProcessName="Illustrator.exe" AND ExceptionCode=0xC0000005