📄 Description (English)
InDesign Desktop versions 21.0, 19.5.5 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.
🤖 AI Executive Summary
Adobe InDesign versions 21.0, 19.5.5 and earlier contain a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability (CVE-2026-21304) that could enable arbitrary code execution when users open malicious files. With a CVSS score of 7.8 and no public exploits currently available, this represents a significant but manageable risk. Patches are available and should be deployed promptly across all affected InDesign installations.
📄 Description (Arabic)
🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 28, 2026 14:08
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
Saudi organizations in creative industries, government communications departments, and media organizations using InDesign are at risk. Primary impact sectors include: Government (NCA, Ministry of Media) for official document creation; Banking sector for marketing materials and reports; Telecommunications (STC, Mobily) for promotional content; Energy sector (ARAMCO) for technical documentation; Healthcare for patient education materials; and Education institutions. The requirement for user interaction (opening malicious files) reduces immediate risk but increases social engineering attack vectors, particularly through email-based distribution of crafted InDesign files.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government
Banking
Telecommunications
Energy
Healthcare
Education
Media and Publishing
Creative Industries
🎯 MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
7.2
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
Immediate Actions:
1. Identify all InDesign installations across the organization using asset management tools
2. Prioritize systems handling sensitive documents or connected to critical networks
3. Implement email gateway rules to block suspicious .indd, .idml, and related file attachments from external sources
4. Alert users not to open InDesign files from untrusted sources
Patching Guidance:
1. Update InDesign to version 21.1 or later (or 19.5.6+ for legacy versions)
2. Deploy patches through Adobe Creative Cloud auto-update or manual installation
3. Test patches in non-production environment first
4. Create deployment schedule for enterprise environments
Compensating Controls (if immediate patching not possible):
1. Disable InDesign file opening from email clients
2. Restrict InDesign usage to trusted users only
3. Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized code execution
4. Use sandboxed environments for opening untrusted InDesign files
Detection Rules:
1. Monitor for InDesign process spawning child processes (cmd.exe, powershell.exe)
2. Alert on InDesign accessing unusual registry locations
3. Track InDesign memory access patterns for heap corruption indicators
4. Monitor file system changes initiated by InDesign process
5. Log all InDesign file opens with source tracking
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
الإجراءات الفورية:
1. تحديد جميع تثبيتات InDesign عبر المؤسسة باستخدام أدوات إدارة الأصول
2. إعطاء الأولوية للأنظمة التي تتعامل مع المستندات الحساسة أو المتصلة بالشبكات الحرجة
3. تطبيق قواعد بوابة البريد الإلكتروني لحظر المرفقات المريبة من ملفات InDesign
4. تنبيه المستخدمين بعدم فتح ملفات InDesign من مصادر غير موثوقة
إرشادات التصحيح:
1. تحديث InDesign إلى الإصدار 21.1 أو أحدث (أو 19.5.6+ للإصدارات القديمة)
2. نشر التصحيحات عبر تحديث Adobe Creative Cloud التلقائي أو التثبيت اليدوي
3. اختبار التصحيحات في بيئة غير الإنتاج أولاً
4. إنشاء جدول نشر لبيئات المؤسسات
الضوابط البديلة (إذا لم يكن التصحيح الفوري ممكناً):
1. تعطيل فتح ملفات InDesign من عملاء البريد الإلكتروني
2. تقييد استخدام InDesign للمستخدمين الموثوقين فقط
3. تطبيق القائمة البيضاء للتطبيقات لمنع تنفيذ الأكواد غير المصرح بها
4. استخدام بيئات معزولة لفتح ملفات InDesign غير الموثوقة
قواعد الكشف:
1. مراقبة عملية InDesign التي تنتج عمليات فرعية (cmd.exe, powershell.exe)
2. التنبيه على InDesign الوصول إلى مواقع تسجيل غير عادية
3. تتبع أنماط وصول ذاكرة InDesign لمؤشرات تلف المكدس
4. مراقبة تغييرات نظام الملفات التي يبدأها عملية InDesign
5. تسجيل جميع فتحات ملفات InDesign مع تتبع المصدر
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Information Security Policies (patch management)
ECC 2024 A.5.2.1 - User Access Management (restrict InDesign access)
ECC 2024 A.5.3.1 - Cryptography (secure file handling)
ECC 2024 A.5.4.1 - Physical and Environmental Security (endpoint protection)
ECC 2024 A.6.1.1 - Internal Organization (vulnerability management)
ECC 2024 A.6.2.1 - Mobile Device Management (if InDesign on mobile)
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF Governance - Risk Management (vulnerability assessment and remediation)
SAMA CSF Protect - Access Control (restrict InDesign usage)
SAMA CSF Protect - Data Security (protect documents from malicious files)
SAMA CSF Detect - Anomalies and Events (monitor InDesign process behavior)
SAMA CSF Respond - Incident Management (response procedures for exploitation)
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.1 - Policies for Information Security (patch management policy)
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.2 - Information Security Roles and Responsibilities
ISO 27001:2022 A.6.1 - Screening (user awareness of file risks)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.1 - Asset Management (software inventory)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.2 - Configuration Management (patch baseline)
ISO 27001:2022 A.8.3 - Acceptable Use of Assets (restrict file sources)
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0.1
PCI DSS 6.2 - Security Patches (timely patching requirement)
PCI DSS 6.4.6 - Public Security Patches (apply within defined timeframe)
PCI DSS 11.2 - Vulnerability Scanning (identify affected systems)
🔗 References & Sources 1
📦 Affected Products / CPE 2 entries
adobe:indesign
adobe:indesign