CVE-2025-30330: Heap-based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability in Illustrator Versions 29.3, 28.7.5 and Earlier

Overview

The software industry recently found itself facing yet another security issue, this time in the form of CVE-2025-30330, a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability affecting Illustrator versions 29.3, 28.7.5, and earlier. This vulnerability could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Given the widespread use of Illustrator in various industries, the implications of this vulnerability are significant and could lead to potential system compromise or data leakage.
The severity of this issue is underlined by its CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) score of 7.8, which highlights the critical need for immediate attention and mitigation measures. This vulnerability is particularly important because its exploitation requires user interaction, meaning that a victim must open a malicious file for the exploit to be successful.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-30330
Severity: High (CVSS: 7.8)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Arbitrary code execution, potential system compromise, and data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Illustrator | 29.3
Illustrator | 28.7.5 and earlier versions

How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability is a heap-based buffer overflow issue. This type of vulnerability occurs when a program writes more data to a buffer located on the heap than what is actually allocated for that buffer. This overflow can overwrite adjacent memory locations, leading to unexpected behavior such as crashes, incorrect results, or allow execution of arbitrary code.
In the case of CVE-2025-30330, an attacker could craft a malicious file that, when opened by a user in the affected versions of Illustrator, can trigger the buffer overflow condition. This could potentially allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user, leading to system compromise or data leakage.

Conceptual Example Code

The conceptual exploit might look something like this:

# Define a large buffer
buffer = 'A' * 5000
# Create a malicious file
with open('malicious_file.ai', 'w') as f:
f.write(buffer)

In this simplified example, a malicious file is created containing a large buffer. If this file is opened in a vulnerable version of Illustrator, it could potentially trigger the buffer overflow vulnerability, causing unpredictable system behavior or even system compromise.