Overview
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system has identified a significant vulnerability, tagged as CVE-2025-43590, in certain versions of the popular desktop publishing software, InDesign Desktop. This vulnerability could potentially risk the system’s integrity and confidentiality, with an attacker being able to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Given the widespread usage of InDesign Desktop in various industries, this vulnerability poses a serious security concern that can lead to system compromise or data leakage if left unaddressed.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-43590
Severity: High (CVSS: 7.8)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: System compromise, data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
InDesign Desktop | ID20.2, ID19.5.3 and earlier versions
How the Exploit Works
The CVE-2025-43590 vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write issue. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by enticing a user to open a maliciously crafted file in InDesign Desktop. The file contains code that triggers an out-of-bounds write, resulting in memory corruption. Once this corruption is in place, the attacker can execute arbitrary code within the context of the current user, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
While the exact exploit code would vary depending on the context, here’s a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited:
POST /opening-file HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/indesign
{ "malicious_file": "corrupted-file.indd" }In the above example, the attacker would have already embedded the malicious payload within the “corrupted-file.indd”. When the victim opens this file, the payload executes, exploiting the out-of-bounds vulnerability and potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage.
Mitigation and Recommendations
Users are strongly advised to apply patches released by the vendor to mitigate this vulnerability. If a patch is not immediately available, users can implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary measure. Regularly updating your software and refraining from opening files from untrusted sources will further strengthen your defense against such vulnerabilities.