CVE-2025-43594: Adobe InDesign RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-43594 Overview

CVE-2025-43594 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability [CWE-787] affecting Adobe InDesign Desktop versions 19.5.3 and earlier. The flaw allows arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user when a victim opens a malicious file. Exploitation requires user interaction, limiting remote attack scenarios but remaining viable through phishing or social engineering. Adobe assigned the vulnerability a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 and documented it in the Adobe InDesign Security Advisory.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation grants attackers the ability to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the logged-in user, potentially leading to full workstation compromise.

Affected Products

• Adobe InDesign Desktop versions 19.5.3 and earlier
• Microsoft Windows installations of Adobe InDesign
• Apple macOS installations of Adobe InDesign

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-07-08 - CVE-2025-43594 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
• 2025-07-10 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-43594

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 crafted document, the application writes data beyond the bounds of an allocated memory buffer. This corrupts adjacent memory structures, which an attacker can leverage to redirect execution flow.

The local attack vector reflects that exploitation occurs through file processing on the victim machine. Although classified as local, attackers commonly deliver malicious InDesign files through email attachments, shared storage, or web downloads. The high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts indicate full compromise of user-accessible resources.

Root Cause

Out-of-bounds writes typically result from missing or incorrect bounds checks on array indices, pointer arithmetic, or length fields parsed from untrusted file structures. In this case, malformed values inside an InDesign document cause the application to write past the end of an allocated buffer. Memory corruption of this type frequently leads to control-flow hijacking when adjacent objects contain virtual function pointers or other code references.

Attack Vector

An attacker crafts a malicious InDesign document containing values designed to trigger the out-of-bounds write. The attacker delivers the file to a target user through email, file sharing, or a compromised website. When the victim opens the file in a vulnerable version of InDesign, the parser processes the malformed structures and writes attacker-controlled data outside the intended buffer. The corruption is shaped to overwrite function pointers or object metadata, redirecting execution to attacker-supplied code. The executed code runs with the privileges of the user account that launched InDesign.

Refer to the Adobe InDesign Security Advisory APSB25-60 for vendor technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-43594

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected crashes of InDesign.exe (Windows) or Adobe InDesign (macOS) shortly after opening a document from an untrusted source
• InDesign processes spawning child processes such as cmd.exe, powershell.exe, bash, or osascript
• Outbound network connections initiated by the InDesign process to unfamiliar hosts
• Creation of executables, scripts, or LaunchAgents by the InDesign process in user-writable directories

Detection Strategies

• Hunt for InDesign processes spawning shell interpreters or scripting hosts using endpoint detection telemetry
• Inspect .indd, .idml, and related InDesign file types arriving from external sources for unusual size or malformed structure
• Correlate InDesign crash events with subsequent file writes or process creations to identify post-exploitation activity

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable process lineage logging on endpoints running Adobe InDesign to capture parent-child relationships
• Forward Adobe application crash logs and Windows Application event log entries to a centralized analytics platform
• Monitor user directories for the creation of persistence artifacts after InDesign file open events

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-43594

Immediate Actions Required

• Update Adobe InDesign Desktop to the version specified in Adobe Security Bulletin APSB25-60
• Inventory all endpoints running InDesign version 19.5.3 or earlier and prioritize patching
• Block delivery of InDesign file types from untrusted external senders at the mail gateway until patches are deployed
• Instruct users to avoid opening InDesign documents received from unknown or unverified sources

Patch Information

Adobe released fixed builds of InDesign Desktop addressing CVE-2025-43594. Administrators should consult Adobe Security Bulletin APSB25-60 for the exact fixed version numbers and download instructions for both Windows and macOS platforms. Deploy updates through the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop client or enterprise deployment tools.

Workarounds

• Restrict InDesign usage to standard user accounts to limit the impact of arbitrary code execution
• Apply application allowlisting to prevent InDesign from launching unauthorized child processes
• Configure email security gateways to quarantine .indd and .idml attachments from external senders pending review

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

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