Adobe InDesign Desktop up to 20.5.2/21.2 File heap-based overflow

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Adobe InDesign Desktop up to 20.5.2/21.2. It has been declared as critical. This affects an unknown function of the component File Handler. The manipulation results in heap-based overflow. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2026-27238. The attack can be launched remotely. No exploit exists. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Adobe InDesign Desktop up to 20.5.2/21.2. Affected is some unknown processing of the component File Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a heap-based overflow vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-122. A heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc(). This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

InDesign Desktop versions 20.5.2, 21.2 and earlier are affected by a Heap-based Buffer Overflow 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 open a malicious file.

The advisory is shared for download at helpx.adobe.com. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-27238 since 02/18/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploitation doesn't require any form of authentication. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 04/14/2026).

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Type

• Image Processing Software

Vendor

• Adobe

Name

• InDesign Desktop

Version

• 20.5.0
• 20.5.1
• 20.5.2
• 21.0
• 21.1
• 21.2

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.adobe.com/

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