CVE-2025-49568: Adobe Illustrator Use After Free Vulnerability

CVE-2025-49568 Overview

CVE-2025-49568 is a Use After Free vulnerability [CWE-416] affecting Adobe Illustrator versions 28.7.8, 29.6.1, and earlier on Windows and macOS. The flaw allows an attacker to disclose sensitive memory contents when a victim opens a malicious file. Exploitation requires local access and user interaction. Adobe published an advisory (APSB25-74) addressing the issue. No public exploit or in-the-wild activity has been reported.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation leads to disclosure of sensitive process memory, which may include pointers or data useful for bypassing address space layout randomization (ASLR) and chaining further attacks.

Affected Products

Adobe Illustrator 28.7.8 and earlier (2024 release)
Adobe Illustrator 29.6.1 and earlier (2025 release)
Windows and macOS installations of the affected versions

Discovery Timeline

2025-08-12 - CVE-2025-49568 published to the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-49568

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a Use After Free condition [CWE-416] in Adobe Illustrator's file parsing logic. Illustrator frees a heap object during processing of a crafted document but retains a dangling reference to that memory. Subsequent access to the freed region reads whatever data now occupies that slot on the heap. An attacker who controls surrounding allocations can influence what is returned, leading to disclosure of sensitive in-process memory to the file rendering pipeline or accessible attacker-controlled logic.

Because the CVSS impact metrics indicate confidentiality-only impact, the flaw does not directly enable code execution or file modification. However, leaked memory frequently contains heap pointers, module base addresses, or fragments of other documents opened in the same session, which are useful primitives for chaining with a separate memory-corruption bug.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper lifetime management of a heap-allocated object during parsing of an Illustrator-supported file format. The object is released while at least one reference remains reachable through the parser state. Adobe has not published the specific object type or file format field involved.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires an attacker to deliver a malicious file (for example, .ai, .pdf, or another Illustrator-supported format) and convince the user to open it in a vulnerable Illustrator build. The attack vector is local; no network or authentication is required. Common delivery methods include phishing attachments, malicious downloads, and file-sharing platforms.

No verified proof-of-concept code is publicly available. See the Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-74 for vendor-supplied technical context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49568

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected Illustrator crashes or abnormal termination shortly after opening a document from an untrusted source
Illustrator processes spawning child processes or performing outbound network connections that deviate from baseline behavior
Suspicious .ai, .eps, .pdf, or .svg files arriving via email, chat, or file-sharing services and opened by design or engineering users

Detection Strategies

Inventory endpoints running Illustrator and flag versions at or below 28.7.8 and 29.6.1
Alert on Illustrator process crashes with access violations, which may indicate exploitation attempts against the freed object
Correlate email gateway telemetry with endpoint file-open events for Illustrator-supported extensions originating from external senders

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor Adobe application logs and Windows Event Log or macOS unified logs for Illustrator.exe faulting modules
Track file provenance using mark-of-the-web (MOTW) or macOS quarantine attributes on documents opened by Illustrator
Review endpoint detection and response (EDR) telemetry for anomalous memory access patterns and child-process activity from Illustrator

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49568

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Adobe Illustrator to the fixed releases listed in Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-74
Identify all Illustrator installations across managed endpoints and prioritize patching for users who routinely receive external design files
Instruct users to avoid opening .ai and related files from untrusted or unverified sources until patching completes

Patch Information

Adobe addressed CVE-2025-49568 in the security update documented in Adobe Security Advisory APSB25-74. Administrators should deploy the update through the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application or via enterprise deployment tooling such as the Adobe Admin Console.

Workarounds

Restrict opening of Illustrator files received from external or unverified sources until the patch is applied
Enforce email attachment filtering to quarantine Illustrator-supported file types originating outside the organization
Apply least-privilege principles so Illustrator runs under a standard user account, limiting the value of any leaked memory

bash

# Verify installed Illustrator version on Windows
reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Illustrator" /s /f Version

# Verify installed Illustrator version on macOS
defaults read "/Applications/Adobe Illustrator 2025/Adobe Illustrator.app/Contents/Info.plist" CFBundleShortVersionString