CVE-2025-24452: Adobe InDesign RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-24452 Overview

CVE-2025-24452 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability [CWE-787] affecting Adobe InDesign Desktop versions ID20.1, ID19.5.2, and earlier. The flaw allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user when a victim opens a crafted InDesign file. Adobe disclosed the issue in security bulletin APSB25-19 on March 11, 2025. The vulnerability impacts both Windows and macOS installations of InDesign Desktop. Exploitation requires user interaction, which limits remote exploitation but remains viable through phishing campaigns and supply chain attacks targeting design teams.

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

Affected Products

Adobe InDesign Desktop ID20.1 and earlier
Adobe InDesign Desktop ID19.5.2 and earlier
Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS installations

Discovery Timeline

2025-03-11 - CVE-2025-24452 published to NVD
2025-03-11 - Adobe releases security bulletin APSB25-19 with patched versions
2025-04-28 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24452

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write condition [CWE-787] in Adobe InDesign Desktop's file parsing logic. When InDesign processes a malformed document, the application writes data beyond the boundaries of an allocated buffer. This memory corruption can be leveraged to overwrite adjacent structures such as function pointers, virtual table pointers, or return addresses. Attackers can chain this primitive into arbitrary code execution within the InDesign process. The flaw resides in the local attack surface, requiring an attacker to deliver a malicious .indd, .idml, or related InDesign file to the target.

Root Cause

The vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds validation when parsing structured data inside InDesign document files. The parser fails to verify that the size of incoming data fits the destination buffer before writing. This out-of-bounds write corrupts heap or stack memory adjacent to the buffer. Adobe has not published deep technical specifics for this issue beyond the bulletin in APSB25-19.

Attack Vector

The attack requires local user interaction. An attacker crafts a malicious InDesign file and delivers it through email, file sharing services, or compromised websites. When the victim opens the file in a vulnerable InDesign version, the parser triggers the out-of-bounds write. Code execution occurs under the victim's user context, which often includes access to design assets, cloud storage credentials, and connected creative cloud accounts. See the Adobe InDesign Security Advisory for vendor guidance.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24452

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned from InDesign.exe on Windows or Adobe InDesign on macOS, particularly shells, scripting interpreters, or rundll32.exe.
InDesign process crashes or exception events correlated with opening untrusted .indd or .idml files from email or external sources.
Outbound network connections originating from the InDesign process to unfamiliar hosts shortly after a document is opened.

Detection Strategies

Monitor for anomalous process lineage where InDesign launches command interpreters such as cmd.exe, powershell.exe, bash, or osascript.
Inspect file system telemetry for InDesign writing executable content to user-writable paths like %APPDATA%, %TEMP%, or ~/Library/LaunchAgents.
Track inventory data to identify endpoints still running InDesign versions at or below ID20.1 and ID19.5.2.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward endpoint process, file, and network telemetry to a centralized analytics platform to enable cross-host hunting for InDesign-launched payloads.
Alert on InDesign documents arriving via email gateways from external senders, especially when targeting marketing, design, or publishing teams.
Correlate user-reported application crashes with subsequent persistence, credential access, or lateral movement activity.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24452

Immediate Actions Required

Update Adobe InDesign Desktop to the fixed versions listed in APSB25-19 on all Windows and macOS endpoints.
Block delivery of untrusted InDesign file types at email and web gateways until patching is verified across the fleet.
Restrict end-user privileges so InDesign runs as a standard user, limiting the blast radius of code execution.

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed versions of InDesign Desktop in security bulletin APSB25-19 on March 11, 2025. Administrators should deploy the updates through Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop or enterprise software distribution tools and confirm version compliance through asset inventory.

Workarounds

Instruct users not to open InDesign files received from untrusted or unverified sources until patches are applied.
Open suspicious InDesign documents in an isolated virtual machine or sandbox that has no access to corporate resources.
Enable operating system exploit mitigations such as Windows Exploit Protection and macOS Gatekeeper to raise the cost of exploitation.

bash

# Verify installed Adobe InDesign version on macOS
mdls -name kMDItemVersion "/Applications/Adobe InDesign 2024/Adobe InDesign 2024.app"

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