CVE-2025-49532: Integer Underflow Vulnerability in Illustrator Leading to Arbitrary Code Execution

Overview

CVE-2025-49532 is a critical vulnerability found in several versions of Illustrator that could potentially compromise the entire system and result in data leakage. The vulnerability stems from an Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound) issue, which could be exploited to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Given the widespread use of Illustrator across multiple platforms and industries, this vulnerability poses a serious threat to users, particularly if an attacker uses it to gain unauthorized access or control over sensitive information.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-49532
Severity: High (CVSS: 7.8)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Illustrator | 28.7.6, 29.5.1 and earlier

How the Exploit Works

The vulnerability occurs due to an Integer Underflow within Illustrator. An Integer Underflow is a condition that can occur in an application when an integer value is decreased below the minimum value that the integer type can store or represent. In this case, the underflow can lead to a buffer overflow condition, which can be manipulated by an attacker to execute arbitrary code within the context of the current user.
To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker needs to craft a malicious file and persuade the victim to open this file using the vulnerable Illustrator software. Upon opening the malicious file, the Integer Underflow vulnerability is triggered, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code.

Conceptual Example Code

Given below is a simplified conceptual representation of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This is not actual code but a conceptual representation to understand the exploitation process.

def integer_underflow(file):
buffer = bytearray()
with open(file, 'rb') as f:
buffer.extend(f.read())
# underflow occurs here
buffer_size = len(buffer) - 65536
# buffer overflow leading to arbitrary code execution
overflow = bytearray(buffer_size)
overflow.extend(buffer)
execute(overflow)

In the above example, an underflow occurs when trying to subtract a large value (65536) from the size of the buffer, which results in a negative value. This negative value is used to create a new buffer (overflow), which leads to a buffer overflow condition. This condition can be exploited to execute arbitrary code.