Overview
This blog post provides a detailed analysis of a serious vulnerability identified in Adobe Framemaker, marked as CVE-2025-47123. Adobe Framemaker, a desktop publishing software product widely used for writing and editing large or complex documents, is affected by a significant Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in its versions 2020.8, 2022.6 and earlier. This issue is of particular concern as it could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The implications of this vulnerability are considerable, as it provides a gateway for potential system compromise or data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-47123
Severity: High severity | CVSS score: 7.8
Attack Vector: File-based
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Arbitrary code execution, potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Adobe Framemaker | 2020.8 and earlier
Adobe Framemaker | 2022.6 and earlier
How the Exploit Works
The Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in Adobe Framemaker can be exploited when a user opens a malicious file. The attacker creates a file designed to overflow the heap buffer when processed by Adobe Framemaker. This overflow can corrupt data, crash the application, or allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code. The last potential outcome is particularly dangerous, as it means the attacker can execute commands on the system with the same privileges as the user running the vulnerable software.
Conceptual Example Code
A conceptual example of this exploit could look like this:
$ # Attacker creates a malicious file
$ echo "overflow data" > malicious_file.fmk
$ # Victim opens the malicious file in Adobe Framemaker
$ open -a Adobe\ Framemaker malicious_file.fmkIn this example, `overflow data` is a placeholder for actual overflow-inducing data. The exact nature of this data would depend on specific vulnerabilities in the software’s file parsing code. The `open` command represents a user opening the file using Adobe Framemaker.
