{"id":83091,"date":"2025-10-17T09:44:46","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T09:44:46","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-10-28T11:37:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T17:37:21","slug":"cve-2025-54225-critical-use-after-free-vulnerability-in-indesign-desktop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-54225-critical-use-after-free-vulnerability-in-indesign-desktop\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>CVE-2025-54225: Critical Use After Free Vulnerability in InDesign Desktop<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>InDesign Desktop, a widely used desktop publishing and typesetting software, is grappling with a serious cybersecurity issue. The software, in its versions 20.4, 19.5.4 and earlier, is affected by a Use After Free vulnerability classified under CVE-2025-54225. This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-8565-unauthorized-access-and-arbitrary-plugin-installation-vulnerability-in-wp-legal-pages-wordpress-plugin\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"90337\">vulnerability can lead to arbitrary<\/a> code execution in the context of the current user. If exploited, this could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-59340-jinjava-template-engine-vulnerability-leading-to-potential-remote-code-execution\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"90416\">potentially compromise the system or lead<\/a> to data leakage. Given the widespread use of InDesign Desktop across various sectors, this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-52930-high-risk-memory-corruption-vulnerability-in-sail-image-decoding-library\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"90852\">vulnerability poses a serious risk<\/a> to information security.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CVE ID: CVE-2025-54225<br \/>\nSeverity: High (7.8 CVSS Score)<br \/>\nAttack Vector: Local<br \/>\nPrivileges Required: None<br \/>\nUser Interaction: Required<br \/>\nImpact: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-59352-critical-vulnerability-in-dragonfly-file-distribution-system-leading-to-potential-remote-code-execution-rce\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"90810\">System compromise and potential<\/a> data leakage<\/p>\n<p><strong>Affected Products<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-3396323720\" class=\"ameeb-content-2 ameeb-entity-placement\"><div style=\"border-left: 4px solid #555; padding-left: 20px; margin: 48px 0; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; color: #ffffff; line-height: 1.6; max-width: 700px;\">\r\n  <h2 style=\"margin-top: 0; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; display: flex; align-items: center;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"display: inline-flex; align-items: center; margin-right: 8px;\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Best-App-icon-Ameeba.png\" alt=\"Ameeba Chat Icon\" style=\"width: 40px; height: 40px;\" \/>\r\n    <\/a>\r\n    A new way to communicate\r\n  <\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 12px;\">\r\n    Ameeba Chat is built on encrypted identity, not personal profiles.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"margin-bottom: 16px;\">\r\n    Message, call, share files, and coordinate with identities kept separate.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <ul style=\"list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin-bottom: 20px;\">\r\n    <li>\u2022 Encrypted identity<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Ameeba Chat authenticates access<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Aliases and categories<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 End-to-end encrypted chat, calls, and files<\/li>\r\n    <li>\u2022 Secure notes for sensitive information<\/li>\r\n  <\/ul>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"font-style: italic; font-weight: 600; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\r\n    Private communication, rethought.\r\n  <\/p>\r\n\r\n  <div style=\"display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 12px;\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\/download\" style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Download Ameeba Chat<\/a>\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/chat\" style=\"border: 1px solid #ffffff; color: #ffffff; padding: 10px 20px; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; font-weight: 500;\">Learn More<\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n<p>InDesign Desktop | 20.4 and earlier<br \/>\nInDesign Desktop | 19.5.4 and earlier<\/p>\n<p><strong>How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Use After Free <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-7848-memory-corruption-vulnerability-in-ni-labview-potentially-leading-to-arbitrary-code-execution\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"90460\">vulnerability in InDesign Desktop is a memory corruption<\/a> flaw that happens when the software continues to reference memory after it has been freed\/deleted. This can lead to arbitrary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-58045-critical-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-dataease\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"90358\">code execution<\/a>. An attacker can craft a malicious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-54709-critical-php-remote-file-inclusion-vulnerability-in-uxper-sala\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"90472\">file that exploits this vulnerability<\/a>. Once the user opens this file, the attacker can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2023-49565-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-cbis-manager-podman-container\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"90449\">execute arbitrary code<\/a> within the context of the current user.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"ameeb-1362768687\" class=\"ameeb-content ameeb-entity-placement\"><div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"f6b387694f681\"><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/div>\n<p>While specific exploit code for CVE-2025-54225 has not been publicly disclosed to prevent misuse, an example of a general Use After Free exploit is shown below. This is a simplified pseudocode representation and does not represent a real exploit.<\/p>\n<pre><code class=\"\" data-line=\"\"># Pseudocode for a Use After Free vulnerability\nclass VulnerableObject:\ndef execute(self, command):\neval(command)\ndef exploit():\nobj = VulnerableObject()\nobj.execute(&quot;some command&quot;)\ndel obj  # Object is deleted here\nobj.execute(&quot;malicious command&quot;)  # But it&#039;s still being used here\nexploit()<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>In the context of CVE-2025-54225, the &#8220;malicious command&#8221; would be embedded in a file that the user opens, leading to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-54123-remote-code-execution-vulnerability-in-hoverfly-api-simulation-tool\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"90490\">execution of arbitrary code<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mitigations<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Users of affected InDesign <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-30325-integer-overflow-vulnerability-in-photoshop-desktop-versions-leading-to-potential-system-compromise\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"91652\">Desktop versions<\/a> are strongly advised to apply the vendor-provided patch immediately. In the interim, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation. Regularly updating and patching software is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-55049-critical-vulnerability-in-default-cryptographic-key-usage\/\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"90499\">key practice in preventing the exploitation of such vulnerabilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview InDesign Desktop, a widely used desktop publishing and typesetting software, is grappling with a serious cybersecurity issue. The software, in its versions 20.4, 19.5.4 and earlier, is affected by a Use After Free vulnerability classified under CVE-2025-54225. This vulnerability can lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. If exploited, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[80],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-83091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","attack_vector-rce"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83091"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84821,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83091\/revisions\/84821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83091"},{"taxonomy":"vendor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vendor?post=83091"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=83091"},{"taxonomy":"attack_vector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/attack_vector?post=83091"},{"taxonomy":"asset_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asset_type?post=83091"},{"taxonomy":"severity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/severity?post=83091"},{"taxonomy":"exploit_status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/exploit_status?post=83091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}