CVE-2025-61815
📋 TL;DR
Adobe InDesign versions 20.5, 19.5.5 and earlier contain a use-after-free vulnerability that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code when a user opens a malicious file. This affects all users running vulnerable versions of InDesign on their desktops. Successful exploitation requires user interaction through opening a crafted document.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe InDesign
📦 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 code execution allowing malware installation, credential harvesting, or persistence mechanisms on the affected workstation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper application sandboxing, least privilege user accounts, and file validation controls in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires user interaction (opening malicious file). No public exploit code available at time of analysis.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Update to InDesign version 20.6 or 19.5.6
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 and click 'Update'. 4. Alternatively, download updated version from Adobe website. 5. Restart computer after installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict InDesign file execution
allBlock execution of .indd files from untrusted sources using application control policies.
Disable InDesign file preview
windowsPrevent Windows Explorer from previewing InDesign files to reduce attack surface.
reg add "HKCU\Software\Classes\.indd" /v "PerceivedType" /t REG_SZ /d "" /f
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application allowlisting to prevent execution of malicious payloads.
- Use network segmentation to isolate InDesign workstations from critical systems.
🔍 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: wmic product where name="Adobe InDesign" get version. On macOS: /Applications/Adobe\ InDesign\ */Adobe\ InDesign.app/Contents/Info.plist | grep -A1 CFBundleShortVersionStringVerify Fix Applied:
Verify InDesign version is 20.6 or higher, or 19.5.6 or higher after update.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected InDesign crashes with memory access violations
- Process creation from InDesign with unusual command lines
- File system writes from InDesign to suspicious locations
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections from InDesign process to unknown IPs
- DNS requests for suspicious domains from workstation running InDesign
SIEM Query:
process_name:"InDesign.exe" AND (event_id:1 OR event_id:4688) AND (command_line:*powershell* OR command_line:*cmd* OR command_line:*wscript*)