CVE-2024-47451: Adobe Illustrator RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2024-47451 Overview

CVE-2024-47451 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability [CWE-787] affecting Adobe Illustrator versions 28.7.1 and earlier on Windows and macOS. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The flaw requires user interaction: a victim must open a malicious file crafted by the attacker. Adobe published the vulnerability in the Adobe Illustrator Security Advisory APSB24-87.

Critical Impact
Attackers who convince a user to open a crafted Illustrator file can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the logged-in user, enabling malware deployment, credential theft, or lateral movement.

Affected Products

Adobe Illustrator 28.7.1 and earlier (2024 release)
Apple macOS installations running affected Illustrator builds
Microsoft Windows installations running affected Illustrator builds

Discovery Timeline

2024-11-12 - CVE-2024-47451 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-47451

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write [CWE-787] in Adobe Illustrator's file parsing logic. When Illustrator processes a specially crafted document, the application writes data past the boundary of an allocated buffer. This corrupts adjacent memory structures inside the Illustrator process.

Attackers can shape the overwritten memory to hijack control flow. Typical exploitation paths overwrite function pointers, virtual table entries, or SEH structures reachable during subsequent parsing. Once execution is redirected, attacker-supplied shellcode runs with the current user's privileges.

The attack vector is local and requires user interaction, but the confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts are all high. Exploitation does not require prior authentication to Illustrator itself.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or incorrect bounds validation while parsing untrusted content from an Illustrator file format such as .ai, .eps, .pdf, or .svg. A length or index value read from the file exceeds the size of the destination buffer. Illustrator writes attacker-controlled bytes into memory the allocator did not reserve for that structure.

Attack Vector

An attacker crafts a malicious Illustrator-compatible file containing malformed length fields, chunk sizes, or object references. The attacker delivers the file through email attachments, watering-hole downloads, shared storage, or supply-chain channels. When the victim opens the file in a vulnerable Illustrator build, parsing triggers the out-of-bounds write and executes the attacker's payload.

The vulnerability does not describe a specific published exploit. Refer to the Adobe Illustrator Security Advisory APSB24-87 for vendor guidance.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-47451

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by Illustrator.exe on Windows or Adobe Illustrator on macOS, such as cmd.exe, powershell.exe, bash, or osascript.
Illustrator process crashes referencing access violations or heap corruption immediately after opening a document.
Illustrator writing executables, scripts, or scheduled task artifacts to user-writable directories such as %APPDATA%, %TEMP%, or ~/Library/LaunchAgents.
Inbound Illustrator-compatible files (.ai, .eps, .svg, .pdf) originating from untrusted senders or unusual file-sharing paths.

Detection Strategies

Alert on Illustrator processes making outbound network connections to non-Adobe infrastructure, which is atypical for design workflows.
Correlate document-open events with subsequent process creation, module loads from unusual paths, or in-memory code execution.
Deploy behavioral endpoint detection that identifies memory corruption exploitation patterns, such as return-oriented programming (ROP) chains and shellcode staging within Illustrator memory space.

Monitoring Recommendations

Collect and centralize process creation, file-write, and module-load telemetry from workstations running Illustrator.
Track Illustrator version inventory across the fleet and flag hosts remaining on 28.7.1 or earlier.
Monitor mail and web gateways for inbound Illustrator file types and enrich alerts with sender reputation.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-47451

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Adobe Illustrator to the version published in Adobe Security Bulletin APSB24-87 on all Windows and macOS endpoints.
Instruct users not to open Illustrator files received from untrusted sources until patching is complete.
Restrict file-association handling so Illustrator does not auto-open documents from browser downloads or email clients.

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed builds addressing this vulnerability in APSB24-87. Administrators should deploy the patched Illustrator version through Adobe Creative Cloud or enterprise software management tooling. Consult the Adobe Illustrator Security Advisory APSB24-87 for the exact fixed version and download links.

Workarounds

Run Illustrator under standard user accounts to limit the blast radius of code execution.
Use email and web content filtering to block or sandbox Illustrator-compatible attachments from external senders.
Enable operating system exploit mitigations such as Windows Exploit Protection and macOS Hardened Runtime for Illustrator processes.

bash

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

# Example: audit installed Illustrator version on macOS
mdls -name kMDItemVersion "/Applications/Adobe Illustrator 2024/Adobe Illustrator.app"