CVE-2025-24451: Adobe Substance 3D Painter RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-24451 Overview

CVE-2025-24451 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability [CWE-787] in Adobe Substance 3D Painter versions 10.1.2 and earlier. The flaw allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the user running the application. Exploitation requires user interaction: the victim must open a malicious file crafted by an attacker.

Adobe addressed the issue in security bulletin APSB25-18. The vulnerability carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 and is categorized as a local attack vector. No public exploit code or in-the-wild exploitation has been reported as of publication.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation grants arbitrary code execution under the privileges of the current user, enabling persistence, credential theft, or lateral movement from creative workstations.

Affected Products

Adobe Substance 3D Painter version 10.1.2
Adobe Substance 3D Painter all prior versions
Windows and macOS installations of Substance 3D Painter

Discovery Timeline

2025-03-11 - CVE-2025-24451 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2025-03-11 - Adobe publishes security bulletin APSB25-18
2025-04-18 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24451

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write condition triggered when Substance 3D Painter parses a malformed project or asset file. Out-of-bounds writes occur when an application writes data past the end or before the beginning of an allocated memory buffer. Attackers craft input that manipulates indexes, offsets, or length fields used during file parsing.

By controlling the data written outside the intended buffer, an attacker corrupts adjacent memory structures. This corruption can overwrite function pointers, return addresses, or object metadata used by the application. The result is hijacked control flow leading to arbitrary code execution in the user context.

User interaction is required. The victim must open a malicious .spp, texture, or asset file delivered through email, shared storage, or a compromised content channel. Adobe's advisory references this class of issue as a memory corruption defect addressed in Substance 3D Painter version 11.0.0 and later.

Root Cause

The root cause is insufficient bounds checking in the file parsing logic of Substance 3D Painter. The parser trusts size or offset fields embedded in the input file without validating them against the actual allocated buffer size. This is a textbook [CWE-787] pattern in native C/C++ applications that process complex binary asset formats.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is local and requires user interaction. An attacker delivers a weaponized Substance 3D project or asset file to a target. When the user opens the file in a vulnerable version, the malicious data triggers the out-of-bounds write. Code execution then proceeds with the privileges of the logged-in user, which on creative workstations often includes access to source assets, intellectual property, and cached cloud credentials. See the Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-18 for vendor details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24451

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by Substance 3D Painter.exe such as cmd.exe, powershell.exe, or rundll32.exe
Crash dumps or Windows Error Reporting events referencing Substance 3D Painter modules during file open operations
Inbound Substance project files (.spp, .spt, .sbsar) received from untrusted senders or unusual network locations
Outbound network connections initiated by the Substance 3D Painter process to non-Adobe domains

Detection Strategies

Monitor process lineage to alert when Substance 3D Painter spawns scripting interpreters or shells
Hunt for memory corruption signals: access violations, heap corruption events, and ASLR-related faults tied to the Painter process
Inventory installed versions of Substance 3D Painter across endpoints and flag any below version 11.0.0

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable file write auditing on user document directories for new .spp files arriving from email or download paths
Forward endpoint telemetry to a centralized data lake for behavioral correlation across creative workstations
Track Adobe Creative Cloud update status to ensure patched builds are deployed enterprise-wide

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24451

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Adobe Substance 3D Painter to version 11.0.0 or later on all Windows and macOS endpoints
Restrict opening Substance 3D project files from untrusted sources until patching is verified
Apply application allowlisting to prevent Substance 3D Painter from launching unexpected child processes
Communicate guidance to creative and design teams who routinely exchange asset files with external collaborators

Patch Information

Adobe released the fix in Substance 3D Painter version 11.0.0. Refer to the Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-18 for full version mapping and download links. Updates can be deployed through the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or enterprise deployment tooling.

Workarounds

Open Substance 3D project files only from trusted, internally validated sources
Run Substance 3D Painter under a standard user account with no administrative privileges to limit blast radius
Use an isolated workstation or virtual machine to triage files received from external parties

bash

# Verify installed Substance 3D Painter version on Windows
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Substance 3D Painter" /v Version

# Verify installed version on macOS
defaults read "/Applications/Adobe Substance 3D Painter.app/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleShortVersionString