CVE-2025-47098: Adobe InCopy Uninitialized Pointer Vulnerability Leads to Potential Code Execution
Adobe InCopy is a widely used word processor. A recently discovered vulnerability could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.
🔍 TL;DR Summary
CVE-2025-47098 is a critical vulnerability in Adobe InCopy versions 20.3, 19.5.3, and earlier. This uninitialized pointer vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user if the victim opens a malicious file. User interaction is required for exploitation.
🚨 Vulnerability Details
- CVE ID: CVE-2025-47098
- Description: InCopy versions 20.3, 19.5.3 and earlier are affected by an Access of Uninitialized Pointer 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.
- CVSS Score and Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, Base Score: 7.8 (HIGH)
- CVSS Explanation: This CVSS score indicates a high severity. The vulnerability is triggered locally (AV:L) with low complexity (AC:L) and no privileges required (PR:N), but requires user interaction (UI:R). Successful exploitation could lead to high impact on confidentiality (C:H), integrity (I:H) and availability (A:H).
- Exploit Requirements: The user must open a specially crafted malicious file.
- Affected Vendor, Product, Version: Adobe InCopy versions 20.3, 19.5.3 and earlier.
- CWE: CWE-824 - Access of Uninitialized Pointer
- CWE Explanation: CWE-824 describes a situation where a pointer is used before it has been assigned a valid memory address. This can lead to unpredictable behavior, including crashes or, more seriously, arbitrary code execution if an attacker can control the contents of the uninitialized memory.
📅 Timeline of Events
- 2025-07-08: Vulnerability published.
- 2025-07-10: Analysis performed and blog post created.
🧠 Exploitability & Real-World Risk
The vulnerability is exploitable if an attacker can trick a user into opening a malicious InCopy document. Given that InCopy is often used in professional publishing environments, the risk is significant. An attacker could potentially gain control of a user's machine, steal sensitive data, or use the compromised system as a pivot point to attack other systems on the network. The requirement for user interaction slightly reduces the risk, but social engineering tactics can easily overcome this hurdle.
🛠️ Recommendations
- Patch: Upgrade to the latest version of Adobe InCopy as soon as a patch is available. Check the Adobe Security Bulletin (https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/incopy/apsb25-59.html) for updates.
- Security Awareness: Educate users about the dangers of opening files from untrusted sources.
- Security Software: Ensure that your antivirus and anti-malware software are up to date.
🧪 Technical Insight
The root cause of the vulnerability is the usage of an uninitialized pointer. In programming, a pointer is a variable that stores the memory address of another variable. If a pointer is used before it has been assigned a valid address, it will point to an arbitrary location in memory. If the attacker can influence the contents of that memory location, they can potentially redirect the program's execution flow and execute arbitrary code.
🙌 Credit to Researcher(s)
Adobe credited the researcher(s) who reported this vulnerability in the security advisory, however the name is not available in the provided data.
🔗 References
🧵 Tags
#CVE-2025-47098 #Adobe #InCopy #RCE #Vulnerability #Security
Summary: Adobe InCopy versions 20.3, 19.5.3, and earlier are vulnerable to an uninitialized pointer access vulnerability. This flaw allows for arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user if a victim opens a malicious file. Update to the latest version to mitigate the risk.
CVE ID: CVE-2025-47098
Risk Analysis: Successful exploitation allows the attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. This could lead to data theft, system compromise, or further attacks on the network.
Recommendation: Upgrade to the latest version of Adobe InCopy to address this vulnerability. Exercise caution when opening files from untrusted sources.
Timeline
- 2025-07-08: Vulnerability published
- 2025-07-10: Analysis and blog post created