CVE-2025-49568
📋 TL;DR
Adobe Illustrator versions 28.7.8, 29.6.1 and earlier contain a use-after-free vulnerability that could allow attackers to read sensitive memory contents. This affects users who open malicious Illustrator files, potentially exposing confidential data. The vulnerability requires user interaction through opening a crafted file.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe Illustrator
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An attacker could read sensitive memory contents including passwords, encryption keys, or other application data, leading to complete system compromise.
Likely Case
Limited memory disclosure from the Illustrator process, potentially exposing some application data but not full system control.
If Mitigated
No impact if users only open trusted files from verified sources.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires user interaction (opening malicious file) and memory manipulation expertise.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Update to Illustrator 28.7.9 or 29.6.2 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/illustrator/apsb25-74.html
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application 2. Navigate to 'Apps' tab 3. Find Illustrator and click 'Update' 4. Alternatively, download latest version from Adobe website
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict file opening
allOnly open Illustrator files from trusted sources and verify file integrity before opening.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unauthorized Illustrator files
- Use email filtering to block suspicious .ai files and educate users about phishing risks
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Illustrator version via Help > About Illustrator. If version is 28.7.8 or earlier, or 29.6.1 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: wmic product where name='Adobe Illustrator' get version
On macOS: /Applications/Adobe\ Illustrator*/Adobe\ Illustrator.app/Contents/Info.plist | grep -A1 CFBundleShortVersionStringVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 28.7.9 or later, or 29.6.2 or later after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Application crashes in Illustrator with memory access violations
- Unexpected file openings from untrusted sources
Network Indicators:
- Downloads of .ai files from suspicious sources
SIEM Query:
source='*illustrator*' AND (event_id=1000 OR event_id=1001) AND message LIKE '%access violation%'