CVE-2024-30272: Adobe Illustrator RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2024-30272 Overview

CVE-2024-30272 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability [CWE-787] affecting Adobe Illustrator versions 28.3, 27.9.2, and earlier. The flaw allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user when a victim opens a malicious file. Adobe published the security advisory on April 11, 2024, tracked as APSB24-25. The vulnerability affects Illustrator on both Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS platforms. Exploitation requires user interaction, which limits mass exploitation but remains viable through targeted phishing campaigns delivering weaponized Illustrator documents.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation grants attackers arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running Illustrator, enabling malware installation, credential theft, and lateral movement.

Affected Products

Adobe Illustrator 28.3 and earlier (2024 release track)
Adobe Illustrator 27.9.2 and earlier (2023 release track)
Deployments on Apple macOS and Microsoft Windows

Discovery Timeline

2024-04-11 - Adobe releases security bulletin APSB24-25 and CVE-2024-30272 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-30272

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write condition within Adobe Illustrator's file parsing logic. Illustrator processes complex vector formats including .ai, .eps, .pdf, and .svg. When the application parses a malformed file, it writes data past the allocated buffer boundary. This corruption can overwrite adjacent heap structures, function pointers, or object metadata. An attacker who controls the corrupted memory can hijack the execution flow and run shellcode with the user's privileges. Because Illustrator often runs under standard user accounts on creative workstations, attackers gain a foothold that can be pivoted through post-exploitation frameworks. The attack vector is local, meaning the malicious file must be delivered and opened by a victim through phishing, watering-hole attacks, or supply-chain compromise of design assets.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper validation of length or offset fields during file parsing. Adobe has not published field-level technical details in the public advisory. Out-of-bounds write flaws in Illustrator historically stem from incorrect bounds checks when parsing structured objects, tag-length-value records, or embedded image streams within proprietary formats.

Attack Vector

An attacker crafts a malicious Illustrator-compatible file with malformed structures that trigger the out-of-bounds write. The file is delivered to a designer, marketing team member, or creative professional through email, cloud storage sharing, or a compromised asset repository. When the victim opens the file in a vulnerable Illustrator version, the parser writes attacker-controlled data outside the intended buffer. This corruption is shaped into a code execution primitive, typically through heap grooming and control of a function pointer or virtual table.

No verified proof-of-concept code is publicly available for CVE-2024-30272.
Refer to the Adobe security bulletin APSB24-25 for vendor-supplied details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-30272

Indicators of Compromise

Illustrator process (Illustrator.exe on Windows, Adobe Illustrator on macOS) spawning unexpected child processes such as cmd.exe, powershell.exe, bash, or osascript
Illustrator making outbound network connections to untrusted domains shortly after opening a file
Crashes or exception events in Illustrator with heap corruption signatures in Windows Event Log or macOS crash reports
Suspicious .ai, .eps, or .pdf files delivered through email attachments or shared drives from external senders

Detection Strategies

Hunt for process lineage where Illustrator is the parent of scripting interpreters or living-off-the-land binaries
Monitor file writes by the Illustrator process to autorun locations, startup folders, or user profile persistence paths
Correlate Illustrator crash telemetry with subsequent process creation events on the same host
Inspect email gateways for Illustrator-compatible file types originating from unverified external sources

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable EDR telemetry on all workstations running Adobe Creative Cloud applications
Forward Illustrator crash dumps and Windows Error Reporting events to a central log platform
Track version inventory of Illustrator installations through software asset management to identify unpatched hosts

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-30272

Immediate Actions Required

Update Adobe Illustrator to version 28.4 or 27.9.3 or later as instructed in Adobe security bulletin APSB24-25
Inventory all endpoints running Illustrator and prioritize patching for creative and marketing teams
Instruct users to avoid opening Illustrator files from untrusted sources until patching completes
Block inbound email attachments with Illustrator-native extensions from external senders during the patch window

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed builds on April 9, 2024, alongside the publication of security bulletin APSB24-25. The patch addresses the out-of-bounds write in the file parser. Administrators should deploy the update through the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or the Admin Console for managed enterprise deployments. Verify successful patch deployment by checking the Illustrator About dialog for a fixed version.

Workarounds

Restrict Illustrator to opening files only from trusted, internally curated repositories
Run Illustrator under standard user accounts with no local administrator privileges to limit post-exploitation impact
Enforce attack surface reduction rules that block Office and creative applications from spawning child processes

bash

# Verify installed Illustrator version on macOS
defaults read "/Applications/Adobe Illustrator 2024/Adobe Illustrator.app/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleShortVersionString

# Verify installed Illustrator version on Windows (PowerShell)
Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*" | 
  Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -like "*Illustrator*" } | 
  Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion