CVE-2025-61814
📋 TL;DR
Adobe InDesign versions 20.5, 19.5.5 and earlier contain a use-after-free vulnerability that could allow arbitrary code execution when a user opens a malicious file. This affects users of InDesign Desktop on supported operating systems who open untrusted documents.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe InDesign Desktop
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining the same privileges as the logged-in user, potentially leading to data theft, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation leading to malware installation, data exfiltration, or persistence mechanisms being established on the affected system.
If Mitigated
Limited impact due to application sandboxing or restricted user privileges, potentially resulting in application crash rather than code execution.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file) and knowledge of memory corruption techniques. No public exploits known at this time.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Update to InDesign version 20.6 or 19.5.6 as specified in APSB25-106
Vendor Advisory: https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb25-106.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Adobe Creative Cloud application. 2. Navigate to 'Apps' tab. 3. Find Adobe InDesign. 4. Click 'Update' button. 5. Restart computer after update completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict InDesign file handling
allConfigure system to open InDesign files with alternative applications or require verification before opening
Application sandboxing
allRun InDesign with reduced privileges using application sandboxing or containerization
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict file handling policies to prevent opening untrusted InDesign documents
- Use endpoint protection with memory corruption detection and application control
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check InDesign version via Help > About InDesign. If version is 20.5 or earlier, or 19.5.5 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check via Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. On macOS: Click Adobe InDesign > About InDesign from menu bar.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify InDesign version is 20.6 or later, or 19.5.6 or later after applying update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected InDesign crashes
- Memory access violations in application logs
- Unusual child processes spawned from InDesign
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from InDesign to unknown IPs post-document opening
- DNS requests for suspicious domains after file processing
SIEM Query:
Process Creation where Parent Process Name contains 'InDesign' AND (Command Line contains suspicious patterns OR Image Loads unusual DLLs)