Overview
A critical vulnerability has been identified in InDesign Desktop versions 20.4, 19.5.4 and earlier that leaves users susceptible to potential system compromise or data leakage. This vulnerability, officially known as CVE-2025-54209, is a Heap-based Buffer Overflow that could potentially result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. This vulnerability is particularly concerning as it requires only a user’s interaction with a malicious file to be exploited, making it a significant threat to any individual or organization using the affected versions of InDesign Desktop.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-54209
Severity: High (7.8 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Local (through a malicious file)
Privileges Required: No special privileges required
User Interaction: Required (user must open a malicious file)
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
InDesign Desktop | 20.4 and earlier
InDesign Desktop | 19.5.4 and earlier
How the Exploit Works
The Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability occurs when the software does not properly manage the buffer’s boundaries, allowing data to overflow. In the case of CVE-2025-54209, a malicious file causes an overflow in the memory heap of InDesign Desktop. This overflow can then be exploited to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. This means that an attacker could potentially gain control over the system or access sensitive information.
Conceptual Example Code
While the specific code to exploit this vulnerability is not publicly available for safety reasons, an attacker would typically create a malicious file that includes a payload triggering the buffer overflow. This could conceptually look like this:
file = open("malicious.idml", "w")
payload = "A" * 10000 # This value depends on the size of the buffer to overflow
file.write(payload)
file.close()In this conceptual example, the attacker creates a file (`malicious.idml`) filled with a large amount of data (represented by `”A” * 10000`). When this file is opened in an affected version of InDesign Desktop, it causes a buffer overflow, potentially allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code or access sensitive information.