Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-27178

Memory Safety in Adobe Indesign ≤ 19.5.3

Memory Safety
Published
11 March 2025
Modified
14 April 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0026 18th percentile
Risk Priority 56 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-27178 is a high-severity Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787) vulnerability in Adobe Indesign. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 18th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2025-27178 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability (CWE-787) affecting Adobe InDesign Desktop versions ID20.1, ID19.5.2, and earlier. This flaw could lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H), indicating high severity due to its potential for significant impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Exploitation requires user interaction, specifically opening a malicious file in the affected InDesign versions. An attacker with local access can craft such a file to trigger the out-of-bounds write, resulting in code execution as the logged-in user without requiring privileges. No elevated permissions are needed, and the attack complexity is low, making it feasible for adversaries targeting InDesign users via socially engineered file delivery, such as email attachments or shared documents.

Adobe Security Bulletin APSB25-19 provides details on mitigation, available at https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/indesign/apsb25-19.html. Security practitioners should consult this advisory for patch information and apply updates to vulnerable InDesign installations promptly.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

InDesign Desktop versions ID20.1, ID19.5.2 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds write vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must…

more

open a malicious file.

CWE(s)
CWE-787

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-43593Same product: Adobe Indesign
CVE-2025-43590Same product: Adobe Indesign
CVE-2025-21157Same product: Adobe Indesign
CVE-2024-49544Same product: Adobe Indesign
CVE-2025-27175Same product: Adobe Indesign
CVE-2023-29308Same product: Adobe Indesign
CVE-2023-21590Same product: Adobe Indesign
CVE-2024-39391Same product: Adobe Indesign
CVE-2025-43558Same product: Adobe Indesign
CVE-2025-21121Same product: Adobe Indesign

Affected Assets

adobe
indesign
≤ 19.5.3 · 20.0 — 20.2

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation good match

Developer testing and evaluation (including fuzzing and bounds checks) finds out-of-bounds write flaws before deployment.

SA-15 Development Process, Standards, and Tools partial match

Requiring documented secure-development standards and tools can mandate bounds-checked coding practices that avoid the weakness.

SI-10 Information Input Validation partial match

Input validation can structurally reject or sanitize data that would otherwise trigger an out-of-bounds write.

SI-16 Memory Protection partial match

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the exploitability and blast radius of a successful out-of-bounds write.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices (static analysis, bounds checking, code review) are the primary means of preventing out-of-bounds writes.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect and prevent out-of-bounds write defects.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates practices that prevent out-of-bounds writes.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory handling.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles reduce the likelihood of buffer overflows.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding directly addresses out-of-bounds writes through language choice and coding standards.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References