CVE-2025-61832
📋 TL;DR
A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability in Adobe InDesign allows attackers to execute arbitrary code when a user opens a malicious file. This affects users of InDesign Desktop versions 20.5, 19.5.5 and earlier. Successful exploitation requires user interaction but could lead to full system compromise.
💻 Affected Systems
- Adobe InDesign Desktop
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system takeover 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 compromised 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 to open a specially crafted malicious file. No known public exploits at this time.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Update to InDesign 20.6 or later, or 19.5.6 or later
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 installation completes.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict InDesign file handling
allConfigure system to open .indd files with alternative applications or require verification before opening
User awareness training
allTrain users to only open InDesign files from trusted sources and verify file integrity
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Run InDesign with restricted user privileges to limit potential damage from exploitation
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent execution of unknown binaries that might be dropped by exploit
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check InDesign version via Help > About InDesign. If version is 20.5, 19.5.5 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
On Windows: Check via Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features. On macOS: Check via Applications folder > Right-click InDesign > Get Info.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 20.6 or later, or 19.5.6 or later after updating through Adobe Creative Cloud.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected InDesign crashes with heap-related error codes
- Process creation from InDesign with unusual command-line arguments
- File creation in unusual locations by 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 (EventID=1000 OR EventID=1001) AND Description CONTAINS 'heap' OR Process:ParentName='InDesign.exe' AND Process:CommandLine CONTAINS 'cmd'